I asked a man in group the other night to tell me who he was. But that he couldn't use his name or his occupation as part of the description.
He was speechless. Couldn't find any words. He couldn't reach inside himself and find a form of identity other than his job or his name.
"I'm not sure what you’re asking," he finally replied.
His response points out a dilemma for many of us men. The source of our identity is the job we have. The way we earn our money.
When two men meet probably the first five minutes involves what they do. Carpenter. Plumber. Airline pilot. Student. Teacher.
Finally this man asked me, "Well, who I am I if I'm not what I do?"
"I'm not sure," I answered. "You tell me."
The conversation went this way for a while. And he remained confused and perplexed. The idea that he would be anything at all if he were stripped of his job identity wasn’t something he could wrap his brain around.
Finally, though, the conversation moved into another direction.
We’re spiritual beings. We’re parents. Lovers. We’re husbands and wives. We’re an expression of God's creative ability. We’re members of the human family with a responsibility to lift up those around us.
When we look at ourselves this way we open a wide range of possibilities of what we can do, who we can become – and we can also be productive workers.
The point is that if all I am is my job - or what I do to make money - when my job goes away what am I?
Am I nothing?
