I think one thing that hinders many of us from truly knowing and living in our identity in Christ is the tendency to compare ourselves with others and to sometimes try hard to be like them rather than simply being who we are. We figure that if we could just look, act, or walk in their spiritual anointing, we’d somehow be happier.
Of course, there is a time and place for following others’ example, especially when they motivate us to be more loving, Christlike, health-conscious, etc. A problematic tendency we can experience is that of wishing or seeking to be like others out of discontentment over the way we are. It’s almost like spiritual identity theft. We get so caught up in taking on the characteristics and gifts of others instead of being content to walk in our own. This in turn robs us of the joy and freedom we are meant to live in.
This unhealthy tendency can be traced all the way back to the beginning of mankind. Adam and Eve fell prey to the serpent’s temptation in the Garden when he promised them that if they ate the forbidden fruit, they would be like God (Genesis 3:5). When they heard this, they were no longer content to live just as they were—happily and blissfully, in a simple, beautiful, perfect world. They wanted to know all that God knows instead of being content with walking in intimacy with Him. So they chose to embrace the serpent’s reasoning, and creation was forever altered.
The children of Israel fell into this same trap when they requested that a king reign over them, so that they could be like other nations (1 Samuel 8:5). They tried to make this petition sound reasonable and logical since Samuel was advancing in age, and his sons were not following in his footsteps. But the Lord knew their hearts and told Samuel, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king” (1 Samuel 8:7 NIV). Despite their God-given identity as His set-apart, chosen people, the Israelites were still not satisfied and wanted to be like other nations. Consequently, they began worshiping the heathen gods of those nations to whom they compared themselves and started emulating their sinful practices, and they were taken into physical captivity. We, too, can live captive to unhappiness, discontentment, and self-imposed limitations, if we are not satisfied with who we are in Christ.
It took me quite some time to realize how much I was trying to be like others—specifically in my singing and songwriting. For a while, whenever I’d hear a certain artist or singer for the first time and liked what I heard, I would try to pattern my own songs after their style. People noticed this and would tell me, “Just be yourself. Sing and play in your own unique way, without always imitating other people.” When I took this advice, I was set free to discover and work out the unique voice and style Jesus gave me.
I went through the same thing in my efforts to lead people to Christ; I emulated those who mentored me in evangelization. Yes, I respect my mentors and am grateful for the impact they had on my life, but after a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit, I began to walk in a more personalized anointing for telling others about Jesus, so that it was no longer necessary for me to try to copy others.
God has not called us to a life of comparing. As we walk after the Spirit instead of the flesh (Romans 8:1–9), we can feel free to be who God created us to be since we are created in His image (Genesis 1:26). Each of us is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Regardless of our varying characteristics, gifts, and callings, Ephesians 2:10 clearly tells us who we are in Christ: “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”