Identity Formation

I like the think that the formation of one's identity can be related to that of a game of chess, where each move involves deep thought and evaluation within the process of winning. However each move in and of itself can also be detrimental to the outcome of the game. 

An area where both psychology and pastoral work meet would be the realm of identity formation. The psychologist will say that identity formation is just the process of creating an identity from the external stimuli on one’s life. However, it is those stimuli that matter and are increasingly important from the pastoral point of view. The psychologist’s view is usually void of an important influencer in a person’s life; namely God and any sort of religion. Although religion is denoted to be a sub-point to determining a person identity, it is rarely seen as the primary identifier.

 Identity formation has been a part of Christianity from the beginning. Looking specifically at Genesis 1:27 theimago dei is a crucial example: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (NIV). To be in the image of God meant to have Him as a part of our identity. Not only in the spiritual but also in the physical. We are a part of God’s image. What needs to be remembered here, given Genesis 1:27, is that a portion of the human identity is already devoted to God whether we like it or not. This also speaks towards the whole of Christianity, as devote and God-fearing Christians certain aspects of the faith has created a generalization of characteristics under the identity of Christianity. Although identity formation is about the individual, Christianity provides a framework of charter that makes all Christians one.

Identity formation is very much associated with the adolescence and young adulthood of an individual, however I think this is a common mistake because identity formation never actually ceases. In the Christian view we are constantly communicating with God through our devotion to the scripture, personal walks, daily chats with Jesus, our occasional spats of anger and confusion, our apologies and humility, and often through the purge of sinful behaviors in which we learn what and why God is growing and changing us. Thus all of this changes who we are as individuals and as Christians. This change can be seen in a variety of ways, intellectually, physically, in our demeanor, and personality just to name a few. Dealing with growth and change I like to refer to the book of Romans. In Romans 5:2-6 it says:

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (ESV).

There is so much power in this chapter and within these few verses it is assessed that it is through endurance that we grow. Christians know that the faith is not easy and that through putting up with the world and its temptations we are constantly leaning on Christ when going from point A to point B. Paul is right in saying that through our suffering we build a callous of endurance which in turn proves to be a character builder. During my years in high school the motto of the school wasCharacter before Career which means that for us our character in Christ must form before we are to be servants to the world through Him. Psychology, in part, does believe in this constant change of self in what I have heard called the Chronological Identity of Self. This is mostly documented by the interests and the events that have happened within the lifespan of the individual. I will use myself as an example. The selves that I can recall are my fifth grade self where my life was still consumed by toys, cartoons, science fairs and more importantly identification with 9/11/2001. My High School self which was just beginning to grasp the identification process of Christianity. And my most recent self at the end of College who has realized that the more I’ve learned the less I actually know. Chronologically speaking I am not the same person I was back in 2001 as I am currently in 2014. The same goes for my journey of faith and my spiritual battles with Christ. Through the many endurances and sufferings I have grown more as a Christian within the last three years than back when I was in the fifth grade.  And today I realized that I am currently going through another change as I phase into the realm of adulthood and full independence.

            The environment, people, friends, and family surrounding the person are constantly molding the world around the individual who is trying to find themselves within it. Identity formation and the process of attaining one’s self has been addressed best by my dear literary mentor Clive Staples Lewis. Lewis himself could serve as an example of the person struggling with identity inside of and outside of Christianity seeing that he was an atheist for a good portion of his life before he was figuratively dragged into the faith. Lewis in Surprised by Joy denotes that while dealing with the world, namely nature “Total surrender is the first step toward the fruition…Shut your mouth; open your eyes and ears. Take in what is there and give no thought to what might have been there or what is somewhere else” (129). This is what we must do as counselors, pastors, and people of The Way to discern the will of God. This may also serve as a way in which we mentor and guide those in search of their own identities inside of and outside of Christ. By listening to the word of God and hearing his whisper in our times of silence and meditation we are determining our own identities through him.

            Lastly as we look at this from the psychological point of view it is Eric Erickson’s Ego Identity from his stages of development that speak towards both the psychological and the Christian.   According to Kendra Cherry “Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction. According to Erikson, our ego identity is constantly changing due to new experiences and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others.” The ego identity in many ways accounts for the person that the individual become through social life. Lewis states “Friendship can be a school of virtue; but also a school of vice. It is ambivalent. It makes good men better and bad men worse” (282). By surround yourself with those who are Godly and are in the Christian mindset you too are becoming more like-minded to these persons because of constant social interactions. Likewise this can also have an opposite effect if the majority of the persons the individual collaborates with are of a negative mindset. Examples of this can be seen in C.S. Lewis’ theScrewtape Letters where part of the tempted man’s salvation lies in his social life vs. church life. However, part of being a Christian is flooding yourself with stimuli that glorify God while also refraining from the activities or company of things that discourage holiness. Thus Identity Formation is literally what you make of it.