Identity Theft

It goes without saying that we need to pray for the American citizens, especially the Christians, left behind in Afghanistan after the pullout debacle. What they face at this moment is beyond anything you or I can imagine. Put them in the hands of our Father in Heaven, and beseech His protection and grace for them now. Don’t stop praying, because as grim as this seems, in the face of all this evil and all these lies, God remains a rock, a fortress, and a deliverer for His people (2 Samuel 2:22, Psalm 18:2). The Lord IS an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Even when the Israelites, God’s chosen people, wandered away from serving Him and got into deep trouble, He rescued them. Psalm 106 says, “Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.” I challenge you to read the rest of that psalm today. I promise it will reset your perspective, and remind you about God’s mighty power, His righteous judgement of sin, and His compassion for His lost sheep. Even in the midst of mind-numbing troubles and fears, we can praise His name, because He is worthy. Nothing else really matters.

So much is going on that is so serious. Do you ever find yourself wishing you were living back in pre-pandemic days? Even the hardships we might have faced back then seem like a cakewalk compared to what we’re dealing with now. It’s almost surreal, how much things have changed, like we’re suddenly living in a dystopian novel. Whatever people depended on in the past has pulled anchor and sailed away, and everyone’s left floundering in some ideological rip tide.

I’d say that much of what we’re experiencing now in the U.S. is a result of identity theft. Not the financial mess that happens when someone hacks your personal information on the internet. The identity theft I’m talking about is happening on two fronts – the physical and the spiritual. First there is the massive, systematic attempt to steal your identity as an American and a free thinking human being. It begins by trying to convince you that the United States’ history, founding principles, and world status are fundamentally misguided. Nowadays, patriots are being called “domestic terrorists”, so you can see how far this has gone.

Once they get you to doubt the virtue of America’s constitution and character, you have to submit to the system of “identity politics” that’s hijacking our culture. Identity politics assigns each of us to a group or groups, and then ranks us according to someone’s ideas about who’s the most important at the moment. External characteristics that were once merely part of someone’s persona, such as gender, race, sexuality, geography, age, politics and religion are now used in isolation to define us. Society’s privileges are then assigned accordingly. Those who fail to “identify” with favored groups, lose their right to participate in the system, and even to speak freely. Because of the fragile nature of this broken ideology, dissent cannot be allowed, or someone might figure out that the Emperor has no clothes.

And who is this Emperor? Well, look at our country today. Who sets the narrative? Who has the public’s ear? Who has the power to change your world with their pronouncements? At the moment, these manipulators of identity politics are the media, progressive politicians, the technology monopolies, and certain health care interests. Lurking behind the scenes, you might see the military-industrial complex and many multinational corporations. Deeper than that, I’m not prepared to speculate. Suffice it to say the motivations are clear – money, power, and influence. Ordinary people are merely pawns in the game, and how better to control ordinary people than to redefine them, minimize their humanity, divide them, and organize them in a way that serves the agenda?

I’ve suggested that there seems to be a concerted effort to steal – or redefine – our identities as Americans and free thinking people. Denigrating America and pushing identity politics are destructive strategies. The trip down this road cannot end well for America, which makes one wonder if that’s the point. Are we so unmoored from our traditional American values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that we will go meekly into the dark night? The fact is, the Emperor really has no clothes, and it’s worth pointing out this major wardrobe malfunction: nobody can steal your True Identity, as much as they want you to think so.

That leads me to the second kind of identity theft that’s rampant today. It’s spiritual. The truth is, your identity goes deeper than the external things, even deeper than character. As human beings, made in the image of our Creator, we are loved and valuable. We are defined by our humanity, which is something nobody can remove. As Christians, we are marked for eternity as God’s own. So why do so many believers look so worldly? Dutch Sheets, who writes a daily devotional and blog called Give Him 15, says that “the American church has become a subculture, not a counter-culture”. We have forgotten our True Identity in Christ, in our efforts to be comfortable, to succeed, and to be accepted. Satan is satisfied when Christians stop being salt and light in the world.

We must remember Whose we are. We do not belong to the World. Heaven is our home. Our identity, our security, and our peace are in Christ. We don’t have to let either Powers or Principalities get away with identity theft.

Standing with you,

Carolyn

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:11-13 (NKJV)