Identity Misplacement on Our Doorstep.

More and more people are confused about their identity, and the gospel is the only solution we can trust. 

Identity confusion and misplacement may very well be a silent epidemic that you are a victim of. Subconsciously placing our identity in places of temporary nature and fading worth leave us confused and wondering if we will ever find a stable place for our identity. Travel with us back to the beginning, and let's discover together how God formed man to start, and what it says about you and how it changes everything about that you see in the mirror.

This past weekend, I shared a sermon based on the topic of identity, largely due to it being an increasing conflict in the hearts of many around the world. To help gauge the identity struggle of people in our own area, I conducted a survey of which I received 140 responses. This survey aimed to be a source of possible confession of internal struggle, but also lend real time information toward a timely message about where our identity should be placed.

I want to share the details of the results of this survey, and more specifically, break it down by age range so that you can get an idea of where people around you are in terms of identity.

NOTE: The results that I show are tracked by the number of people in each age group responded YES to each question. This means that sometimes, it would be more important to notice the opposite percentage than what is presented. Example: If 25% of people said yes, some questions by need to be look at with the angle of 75% of people saying no.

BASELINE QUESTION: How old are you?

1. 13-19 years old – 25 responses (18%)
2. 20-39 years old – 21 responses (15%)
3. 40-59 years old – 46 responses (33%)
4. 60 + years old – 48 responses (34%)

QUESTION #1: Have you ever questioned why God created you?

1. 13-19 years old – 11/25 people (44%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 13/21 people (62%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 29/46 people (63%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 13/48 people (27%) say YES

QUESTION #2: Do you worry about your reputation?

1. 13-19 years old – 15/25 people (60%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 10/21 people (48%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 30/46 people (65%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 25/48 people (52%) say YES

QUESTION #3: Are you concerned that God would withdraw His love from you?

1. 13-19 years old – 3/25 people (12%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 5/21 people (24%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 4/46 people (9%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 9/48 people (18%) say YES

QUESTION #4: Are you worried about aging?

1. 13-19 years old – 10/25 people (40%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 8/21 people (38%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 27/46 people (59%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 15/48 people (31%) say YES

QUESTION #5: Have you struggled to believe that God loves you?

1. 13-19 years old – 8/25 people (32%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 10/21 people (47%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 13/46 people (28%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 10/48 people (20%) say YES

QUESTION #6: Are you confused about who you are?

1. 13-19 years old – 2/25 people (8%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 6/21 people (28%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 4/46 people (9%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 3/48 people (6%) say YES

QUESTION #7: Are you lonely?

1. 13-19 years old – 4/25 people (16%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 6/21 people (28%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 7/46 people (15%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 3/48 people (6%) say YES

QUESTION #8: Do you or have you questioned your purpose in life?

1. 13-19 years old – 12/25 people (48%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 15/21 people (71%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 33/46 people (72%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 22/48 people (46%) say YES

QUESTION #9: Do you worry about the value of your contribution to society?

1. 13-19 years old – 11/25 people (44%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 10/21 people (47%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 21/46 people (46%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 12/48 people (25%) say YES

QUESTION #10: If what you do ended and what you have was taken, do you believe you would have worth?

1. 13-19 years old – 15/25 people (60%) say YES
2. 20-39 years old – 16/21 people (76%) say YES
3. 40-59 years old – 44/46 people (96%) say YES
4. 60 + years old – 46/48 people (96%) say YES

Final Thoughts:

These results obviously speak to me in many ways, but I would encourage you to consider how they might lead you to act. Perhaps in your context, you simply need to increase your prayer toward those who are struggling, or maybe it means being intentional with your investment of time and energy into pouring into another person.

My prayer is that this study would encourage you in many ways, that in the area of our community at E-Free, we are a very strong church and have many people with a very strong faith. I also hope that these results cause you to intercede for people who are struggling. It’s one thing to know that there is an issue, but it’s another knowing what the issue is, and that it could be someone sitting next to you on Sunday morning at church. This large problem is so little to our powerful God, and let’s pray that these percentages would continue to shift in a positive direction.

Pray for the ministers, leaders, and teachers that in their efforts God would use our church to shift the tide of these statistics. Pray for you, other people around you who have close friendships that God would use both you and them for the betterment of the spiritual lives of others around you.