Missing Identity
This past Memorial Day weekend, I went and saw Disney's live-action remake of Aladdin. For the most part, Disney kept it true to form to the original 1992 animated film, adding in a few wrinkles along the way. Over the course of watching the movie, there was one theme throughout that resonated with me, one that I had never noticed when watching the original movie: Aladdin and Jafar have a lot in common - they're both caught up in a case of missing (or misplaced) identity. And that's something that I think a lot of people can relate with.
In Aladdin's situation, he grew up as a "street rat" and never had much. After Aladdin meets Princess Jasmine and falls for her,he realizes that the only way he could ever be with her is if he became a prince. With the help of the genie, Aladdin "becomes" a prince and even wins over the affection of Jasmine and the approval of her father, the sultan. However, that's where Aladdin starts to find himself in trouble; his entire identity becomes based on a lie that he's a prince. When faced with the option of telling the truth or continuing to live a lie, Aladdin chooses the latter and alienates his friends in the process. He decides that it's better for him to live the lie of being a prince than telling the truth that he's not because lying gets him the love of his dreams. By the time Aladdin realizes that he can't keep living in a lie, he finds himself in a much larger mess. Speaking of which...
In Jafar's situation, he also grew up not having much but worked his way up to a high-ranking position in the palace. However, for Jafar, being the sultan's right-hand man isn't enough because it merely means that he's second. Jafar doesn't just want to be in a position of power -- he wants to be the ultimate powerful leader. When he manages to obtain the lamp and the genie. Jafar's first wish is to be sultan. When people still don't respect him, he wishes to also become a sorcerer. One would think that being sultan and a sorcerer would be enough for the power-hungry Jafar. After all, he's become the most powerful person in Agrabah and even has the genie for one more wish. However, that same hunger for power becomes Jafar's undoing. Aladdin baits Jafar into becoming a genie by telling him that he's still second in power, this time to the genie. Jafar proceeds to fix this by using his final wish to become the most powerful being...which proceeds to turn him into a genie and confine him to a tiny oil lamp.
For both Aladdin and Jafar, they find themselves turning to the genie to achieve what they truly want - and lose themselves in the process. In Aladdin's instance, he came back around and made amends with the genie, Jasmine, and the sultan. For Jafar, his continuous pursuit of power led to him ultimately becoming a servant to it. As the saying goes, being a genie means "phenomenal cosmic powers, itty-bitty living space". When we do anything to get what we want, we lose sight of who we and become controlled by those same desires.
While we may not find ourselves in the same positions that Aladdin and Jafar were in, odds are we have found ourselves misplacing our identity in worldly desires. These worldly desires could include a relationship or power, as was the case with Aladdin and Jafar. Other misplaced areas include wealth, popularity, possessions, looks/appearance, achievements, and social media. One way or another we find ourselves and our self-worth getting tied to a part of this world. Now, having wealth, being proud of one's achievements, or posting pictures of weird Oreo flavors aren't bad in themselves. However, when that becomes the source of our identity, purpose, happiness, or anything else, we lose sight of who we really are.
Similar to Aladdin and Jafar, when our identity gets tied up to this world, we start to lose ourselves and become controlled by where our identity gets placed. When I was in college, one struggle I had was being a perfectionist about my grades. Although getting good grades brought me joy and tangible evidence that my hard work and studying was paying off, there also times that meant added stress and anxiety leading up to tests/exams and the aftermath of them as I waited for grades to be posted. When I didn't get a good grade on a quiz, test, or assignment, I would beat myself up about it and at times worry that it would screw up my grades. There's also that time before finals when everyone calculates what they need to score to achieve the final grade that they went. This could be a source of extra stress for me if I felt like I was on the borderline.
While getting good grades in itself is good, the problem is when it becomes more about the grade and less about the learning. There's also the issue that I would run into: trying to keep up my image because it was a source of pride for me. In the end, it all worked out for me, and it's something that is nice to look back on. That said, while I don't regret the hard work and studying that I put forth in college, I do regret the added stress, anxiety, and burdens that I alone placed on myself. Whether or not I get an A, B, C, D, or F, I'm still the same person: William Wheat Goodfellow, a child of God. That's where our identity should be.
The reason why we lose ourselves when our identity is placed in something that isn't God is because there is literally nothing else that will ever satisfy us the same way. This where the dreaded "Comparison Game" starts to come into play, a game that Jafar played -- and lost. There's always going to be someone that we perceive to better than us or there's always going to be a new standard that we'll be chasing. It's amazing how one can be the most miserable when one reaches what one's always wanted. I was a lot happier when I wasn't caught up in my grade in Business Writing. Odds are Jafar was a lot more miserable in the lamp than he ever was as the sultan's adviser.
As I type this, one verse I'm reminded of comes from Matthew, where Jesus promises that He will give rest to all that come to Him burdened and weary (Matthew 11:28-30). A lot of times we find ourselves burdened and weary by the world and our own desires. Placing an identity in Christ doesn't mean that there won't be burdens or trials, but it does mean that we can take heart in the burdens and trials we find ourselves walking through (John 16:33). One can also read through Paul's letters as a reminder of who we are -- and whose we are. Paul charged the Colossians (and with that, all of us) to "set your minds on things above, not earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:2-3).
To close, I'm reminded by an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, one that inspired the title of today's post. In the episode, Spongebob recounts to people at a diner the time he lost his identity. In this case, Spongebob's identity was tied up to his name tag. When Spongebob lost his name tag, he freaked out and desperately searched for it with the help of his best friend Patrick Star. Near the end of the episode, Patrick spots Spongebob's name tag. It turns out his name tag was with him all along - his shirt was on backwards. A lot of times in life we find ourselves like Spongebob, desperately searching for our identity with our friends and freaking out if we don't have it. But the thing is, our true identity, the one that's rooted in Christ, is always with us and never "missing". It's only "missing" when we make our identity something else. We're children of God saved by His grace and blood of Jesus Christ. An oil lamp, position of royalty, or good grades don't change that.
In Aladdin's situation, he grew up as a "street rat" and never had much. After Aladdin meets Princess Jasmine and falls for her,he realizes that the only way he could ever be with her is if he became a prince. With the help of the genie, Aladdin "becomes" a prince and even wins over the affection of Jasmine and the approval of her father, the sultan. However, that's where Aladdin starts to find himself in trouble; his entire identity becomes based on a lie that he's a prince. When faced with the option of telling the truth or continuing to live a lie, Aladdin chooses the latter and alienates his friends in the process. He decides that it's better for him to live the lie of being a prince than telling the truth that he's not because lying gets him the love of his dreams. By the time Aladdin realizes that he can't keep living in a lie, he finds himself in a much larger mess. Speaking of which...
In Jafar's situation, he also grew up not having much but worked his way up to a high-ranking position in the palace. However, for Jafar, being the sultan's right-hand man isn't enough because it merely means that he's second. Jafar doesn't just want to be in a position of power -- he wants to be the ultimate powerful leader. When he manages to obtain the lamp and the genie. Jafar's first wish is to be sultan. When people still don't respect him, he wishes to also become a sorcerer. One would think that being sultan and a sorcerer would be enough for the power-hungry Jafar. After all, he's become the most powerful person in Agrabah and even has the genie for one more wish. However, that same hunger for power becomes Jafar's undoing. Aladdin baits Jafar into becoming a genie by telling him that he's still second in power, this time to the genie. Jafar proceeds to fix this by using his final wish to become the most powerful being...which proceeds to turn him into a genie and confine him to a tiny oil lamp.
For both Aladdin and Jafar, they find themselves turning to the genie to achieve what they truly want - and lose themselves in the process. In Aladdin's instance, he came back around and made amends with the genie, Jasmine, and the sultan. For Jafar, his continuous pursuit of power led to him ultimately becoming a servant to it. As the saying goes, being a genie means "phenomenal cosmic powers, itty-bitty living space". When we do anything to get what we want, we lose sight of who we and become controlled by those same desires.
While we may not find ourselves in the same positions that Aladdin and Jafar were in, odds are we have found ourselves misplacing our identity in worldly desires. These worldly desires could include a relationship or power, as was the case with Aladdin and Jafar. Other misplaced areas include wealth, popularity, possessions, looks/appearance, achievements, and social media. One way or another we find ourselves and our self-worth getting tied to a part of this world. Now, having wealth, being proud of one's achievements, or posting pictures of weird Oreo flavors aren't bad in themselves. However, when that becomes the source of our identity, purpose, happiness, or anything else, we lose sight of who we really are.
Similar to Aladdin and Jafar, when our identity gets tied up to this world, we start to lose ourselves and become controlled by where our identity gets placed. When I was in college, one struggle I had was being a perfectionist about my grades. Although getting good grades brought me joy and tangible evidence that my hard work and studying was paying off, there also times that meant added stress and anxiety leading up to tests/exams and the aftermath of them as I waited for grades to be posted. When I didn't get a good grade on a quiz, test, or assignment, I would beat myself up about it and at times worry that it would screw up my grades. There's also that time before finals when everyone calculates what they need to score to achieve the final grade that they went. This could be a source of extra stress for me if I felt like I was on the borderline.
While getting good grades in itself is good, the problem is when it becomes more about the grade and less about the learning. There's also the issue that I would run into: trying to keep up my image because it was a source of pride for me. In the end, it all worked out for me, and it's something that is nice to look back on. That said, while I don't regret the hard work and studying that I put forth in college, I do regret the added stress, anxiety, and burdens that I alone placed on myself. Whether or not I get an A, B, C, D, or F, I'm still the same person: William Wheat Goodfellow, a child of God. That's where our identity should be.
The reason why we lose ourselves when our identity is placed in something that isn't God is because there is literally nothing else that will ever satisfy us the same way. This where the dreaded "Comparison Game" starts to come into play, a game that Jafar played -- and lost. There's always going to be someone that we perceive to better than us or there's always going to be a new standard that we'll be chasing. It's amazing how one can be the most miserable when one reaches what one's always wanted. I was a lot happier when I wasn't caught up in my grade in Business Writing. Odds are Jafar was a lot more miserable in the lamp than he ever was as the sultan's adviser.
As I type this, one verse I'm reminded of comes from Matthew, where Jesus promises that He will give rest to all that come to Him burdened and weary (Matthew 11:28-30). A lot of times we find ourselves burdened and weary by the world and our own desires. Placing an identity in Christ doesn't mean that there won't be burdens or trials, but it does mean that we can take heart in the burdens and trials we find ourselves walking through (John 16:33). One can also read through Paul's letters as a reminder of who we are -- and whose we are. Paul charged the Colossians (and with that, all of us) to "set your minds on things above, not earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:2-3).
To close, I'm reminded by an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, one that inspired the title of today's post. In the episode, Spongebob recounts to people at a diner the time he lost his identity. In this case, Spongebob's identity was tied up to his name tag. When Spongebob lost his name tag, he freaked out and desperately searched for it with the help of his best friend Patrick Star. Near the end of the episode, Patrick spots Spongebob's name tag. It turns out his name tag was with him all along - his shirt was on backwards. A lot of times in life we find ourselves like Spongebob, desperately searching for our identity with our friends and freaking out if we don't have it. But the thing is, our true identity, the one that's rooted in Christ, is always with us and never "missing". It's only "missing" when we make our identity something else. We're children of God saved by His grace and blood of Jesus Christ. An oil lamp, position of royalty, or good grades don't change that.
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