There are three basic types of people in this world – motivated by different things… Which are you?

Thinkers.  Thinkers are educators, philosophers, authors, pastors, politicians.  They believe knowledge is power and want to help others know what they know.
Fighters. Fighters operate with a deep sense of courage and responsibility.  These everyday warriors care about defending the defenseless and protecting others.  They are cops, soldiers, and fire fighters.
Doers. Doers must be part of the action and are very results-oriented.  Farmers, laborers, and factory workers make the world go around.

Knowing HOW God made you is important in answering the question WHY He made you. The danger is that culture wants to redefine you.  This world’s fads would try to erase how you were made and rewrite a new identity.  ‘Counterfeit’ identities are offered on the following bases:

Pleasure (Happiness) – I’m the life of the party – I’m all about being happy & making people happy.
Possessions (Wealth) – I’m afraid that people won’t love me if I don’t pick up the tab.
Position (Accomplishments) – The size of my office and my trophy shelf give me a sense of importance.
Power (Authority) – I feel valuable because of the things I can do for others.
Performance (Success, Failure) – I worry that my foreclosure will cost me friendships.

Which ‘counterfeit identity’ is the most tempting for you to accept?

YOLO.  I’m sure you’ve run into YOLO, even if you didn’t know it at first.  YOLO means ‘You Only Live Once.’  It’s the mantra of the modern generation.  Live for the moment.  Live for your happiness.  Go for what you want and don’t look back.  Get all you can, can all you get, and sit on the can!  YOLO.

But just because it’s popular doesn’t make it right.  The Apostle Paul said, in Romans 1, that living for pleasure apart from God ends in destruction – every time.  I will never find fulfillment, satisfaction, or happiness in things here.  I will never find anything that will give me a solid sense of identity apart from God.  Any real identity begins with God.

Through a burning bush, God called Moses to lead His people.  Moses asked a simple question of identity: “Who Am I?” (see Ex 3:11, 14)  The answer came back through the fire: “I Am.”  At first, it doesn’t seem like God answers Moses’ question – but He did.  He gave us the pattern to searching out the answer to the question of our identity… My ‘I Am’ begins in His ‘I Am.’

The ‘I Am’ is the name of God that represents his eternal, all-powerful, self-sufficient faithfulness.  He is Life – unchangeable, uninterrupted, and immutable (see 2 Timothy 2:13).  My identity begins there.

I must realize that I’ve been uniquely created in His image to glorify Him (Ps 139:15-18).  I am not a cosmic accident.  I didn’t just arrive here by chance.  I owe God something.  I am an Image-bearer – that tells me who I am.  God knew me before I was known!  Before I was named or known on earth, before I every knew my favorite color or flavor, before I lost my first tooth, before I worked my first job, before I experienced my first kiss, He knew me and had already determined my identity.

I really can’t go any further in my self-discovery until I come to terms with the purpose of my existence.  He has set the course of my life that I should live for His pleasure, and not mine only  (Rev 4:11).  So am I fulfilling that calling?  Am I living up to my purpose as an image-bearer?  Are you?