tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1239368619989119878.post8058131077624172592..comments2023-09-17T00:35:39.119-07:00Comments on dying to live: Who am I and Why am I here?drgregbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018643621015748573noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1239368619989119878.post-38927955974472768112014-03-14T12:51:34.806-07:002014-03-14T12:51:34.806-07:00Yes, Larry. I agree. whatever you 'do' rei...Yes, Larry. I agree. whatever you 'do' reinforces who you think you are. Negative behaviors have as much power as positive behaviors to persuade us that we 'are' that person. Romans 7 speaks to this 'double personality.' In modern language, Paul is saying the one who does the negative is not the real me. The real me wants to do the positive thing. But the longer we 'sin', the longer we reinforce that we are sinners, not saints.drgregbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16018643621015748573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1239368619989119878.post-68657051932600666702014-03-14T06:30:04.588-07:002014-03-14T06:30:04.588-07:00Good morning Greg,
Sorry for the lag in response....Good morning Greg, <br />Sorry for the lag in response. I think that identity and behavior are inextricably linked. There are those that believe that our actions come out of our belief about our identity (being creates doing; be -> do). There are those that believe that our actions shape our identity (doing creates being; do->be). I believe that we are who we are and that is a summation. By that I mean that we are both doers and beings. I do not think that God looks at us as fractured persons (either two parts – body/soul, or three parts body/soul/mind, or four parts – heart/soul/mind/body, or five parts heart/soul/mind/body/spirit) but as a whole. And as such, I think that our identity determines our actions, but also our actions determine our identity. The reason that I start with this, is that I have been thinking about my pyramid. It had been my thought that the world tells you “get stuff, do things, become happy.” But God says, “Be like Jesus, do things that reflect that identity, reap the results of that lifestyle.” I do believe in sow/reap and cause/ effect. And I believe that the universe does not lie (Rocks are hard. Water is wet). And as such, if we look at what we are reaping, we have significant clues as to what we are really sowing. In essence, our “effects” (feedback from the real world) tell us what we are truly committed to cause. And based on the ramblings in the earlier part of the paragraph, what I would now say is that the feedback that the world is telling you is speaking about both what you are doing and who you are being.<br />Thanks for the thought starter! <br />Godspeed! <br />Larry QAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com