Instead of truly embodying a virtue, I find myself claiming a part of my identity to justify that I am something.

For example: I live in a diverse neighborhood therefore I’m not racist.

I am a Christian therefore I’m humble and loving.

I work in training and development and so I’m always learning and growing myself.

I claim a certain personality type and therefore I am all the good parts of it.

You can see where we can take it. What are those identities, you might be hiding behind?

Our intent or deeper identity matters much less than the impact of our actions. If we perceive ourselves a certain way, we ought to follow through with actions and impact that hold up our identity.

Building in rhythms and habits with the impact we hope are good starting points. I’ve built in a rhythm of mediation each morning before my work starts and at the end of the day when my work ends. This helps me dedicate myself to being thoughtful and considerate. Commit to the identity you claim and check the impact of your actions.

These thoughts came after watching a webinar with my church (cground.org) where Kelly Hassman (my wife) was a panelist and made the point that we often hide behind our identity as Christians to claim we are humble or good when in reality our actions perpetuate racism or other hurtful systems.