For January 2008, Dr. Edward T. Welch (Westminster Seminary; Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation) will be offering some musings for the Society to consider. For his first posting, he considers why the statement, “I’m a child of God” may not help push away bad feelings.

The Power and Weakness of Christian Identity Statements

“I am a child of God.” It is probably a Christian’s most frequently used mental health talisman. It is the Christian’s answer to cognitive therapies. Say it, say it again, believe it and bad feelings flee. As many people have reminded us, we must find our identity in Jesus. It certainly sounds good and true. That’s why I have always felt a little unspiritual that it never really worked for me.

The truth is that I have reason to feel unspiritual. My thoughts can veer off like this: “I am a child of God, but he is still probably ticked off at me,” “I am a child of God, but that doesn’t mean my grandchild – yes, my first grandchild was born November 14 – won’t have all kinds of problems in her life.” The list goes on. But at the risk of sounding like I am defending myself, I want to propose that identity statements, though true, are not the cornerstone of a healthy Christian life.

Years ago I read an article by Martin Seligman. He was observing the dramatic increase in depression and was musing about its causes. Among them was that there is nothing larger than us anymore, so we turn inward to the self. The self, he suggested, cannot bear the burden. “I am a child of God” can, at times, be a Christian means of finding meaning within ourselves. It can be a religious form of self-enhancement. The emphasis can quickly slip from “God” to “I.” Used that way, it is doomed to fail because Seligman is right: the self was never intended to be turned inward.

Yet not everyone uses the phrase this way. Most people probably use it more simply, as in, we are children of the living God, and we so quickly forget. That, of course, is true, but, still, cognitive rehearsal, no matter how true, doesn’t change us. Change is always personal. It is deeply rooted only when it rests in Jesus Christ. And this is the shortcoming of identity statements. They are true, as far as they go, but they can unintentionally rely on a technique rather than Jesus, and they certainly can’t be the final word. Since we instinctually curve inward perhaps we would be better served with reminders that pointed us directly to the Lord. “As a child I want to learn how to turn quickly to the Father and remember his promises that have been sealed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (because I know that I turn quickly away from him.)” That isn’t as succinct, but it reminds me that I don’t want to pause too long on “I am a child of God.”

Biblical identity statements are a bridge. They start with the knowledge of what God has done, and they lead me into action (Romans 6 illustrates this). I wasn’t intended to simply hang out on the bridge. Instead, I walk across it in order to do battle with sin and love other more deeply from my heart.