Identity Theft: How Spiritual Forces Are Stealing Your Child's True Self
While you're worried about protecting your financial identity, something far more valuable is being stolen from the young people in your life—their God-given identity and purpose.
Identity formation has always been a critical part of adolescence. But today's young people are forming their identities in an environment specifically designed to confuse, manipulate, and ultimately steal who God created them to be.
The Digital Identity Crisis
Social media platforms aren't just connecting young people—they're fundamentally reshaping how they see themselves. With every post, like, and comment, young people are being programmed to define their worth through the validation of others rather than their inherent value as children of God.
This isn't accidental. It's a deliberate strategy by spiritual forces using their human collaborators to hijack the natural process of identity formation that occurs during adolescence:
•Young people today are encouraged to create and maintain a "personal brand" rather than discover who God has made them to be.
•They learn to measure their value through external validation metrics like followers, likes, and comments
•They're pressured to conform to ever-changing social expectations rather than timeless biblical values
•They're taught that identity is fluid and self-determined rather than God-given and discovered
Warning Signs of Identity Theft
How can you tell if a young person in your life is experiencing spiritual identity theft? Watch for these warning signs:
•Obsession with online validation and social media metrics
•Dramatic shifts in values, interests, or appearance to gain acceptance
•Increasing confusion about basic aspects of identity and purpose
•Adopting beliefs or behaviors that contradict previously held convictions
The Devastating Consequences
When young people lose their true identity, the consequences are severe and far-reaching:
•Without a secure identity in Christ, they become vulnerable to manipulation
•They make life-altering decisions based on insecure feelings rather than eternal truth
•They experience anxiety and depression as they try to maintain their carefully curated public image
•They never discover their God-given purpose and unique contribution to the world
•They struggle to form authentic relationships because they don't know who they truly are
It’s sad to meet young people who don’t know who they are. They desperately seek affirmation from others who are just as confused as they are. Life begins when you are able to define yourself and your function and purpose in the world. A sense of a higher purpose is the reward for those who seek to know the Lord and journey upon the narrow way.
Reclaiming True Identity
The good news is that identity theft can be reversed. If we become true disciples of Jesus we can rebuild our identity on the gift of who we are in Christ:
We are chosen children of God, adopted into His royal family
Forgiven for all our failures against God and other people
Covered in the Father’s grace and mercy; our acceptance is based on the worthiness of Christ, not our moral perfection
Called and appointed to a life of authority and personal dominion
Given an important role in the work of God to rescue the earth and all who live upon it
Empowered to rise up in our personal development
Supernaturally gifted by God in addition to our abundant natural abilities and competencies
Material needs are guaranteed; we are provided for from cradle to grave
Our value is assigned by our Creator, not other creatures
Our destiny is good; our future security is guaranteed
Engrafted into the worldwide family of God’s people so we’re never alone in life
Deeply valued and protected by supernatural forces
Need not fear death; we will rise from the dead to live again
Inheritors of future hope; our future will be better than our present
You Have to Compete for This Prize
The quest for identity is ultimately a spiritual battle. When young people discover who they are in Christ, they gain a foundation that can withstand the relentless assault of antichrist culture as it tries to dominate and define them. Our divine identity is a gift but we have to compete to apprehend it. It’s all yours only if you unwrap this truth and build your self-concept upon it.
One of the greatest joys of a disciple maker is to see “the lights come on” in the mind of a young person when they have a genuine encounter with Jesus Christ and allow him to reconstruct them beginning with their identity.
Start a conversation with a young person in your life today about where they find their sense of identity and worth. Try to explain the amazing gift we have from Christ as we follow him as Lord and savior.
Thanks for standing behind us!
It’s working!
Chuck & Sherry
