Personal Identity

The following was posted on my ex-website on 04 Aug 2004:

A common question people ask themselves at critical turning points in their lives: Who am I? Peter Parker asked himself this question in Spiderman II, because he felt torn between his responsibility as a super-hero, and his own love for MJ. A lot of people come to realize that their passions and feelings and desires play a large part in answering this question. However, some people stop at this point and conclude that to be themselves, they need to follow their passions, feelings and desires. They let these things guide and rule their lives. The problem is that our feelings are often in flux, and it frustrates and confuses us to follow something that changes all the time.

The crux of the problem lies in realizing that we are created beings. If one does not accept this premise, the issue of who we are cannot be resolved. Life will remain a mystery. Suppose we ask a toaster, what is your purpose? The toaster should realize that its purpose is pretty much decided by its creator, and it is only when it fulfills the purpose in which it is created for that it will experience true joy. The toaster that thinks it is a coffee-maker is walking on the path to mechanical failure. In a similar way, we need to ask our Maker what our purpose is. Our Maker has created us with our passions, feelings and desires so that we can fulfill our purpose with joy and hope. That is why following our desires is part of the answer to the question of who we are, but not the full answer. Our feelings can often deceive us (because we have an Enemy that wants to take us away from the Maker) and we need to ask God to continually remind us of our true purpose.

Do we lose our freedom when we submit ourselves to the purpose of our Maker? No, not at all. What is freedom in the first place? We need to realize that freedom is not the state of being controlled by nothing. We are always controlled by something: our feelings, our needs, our loved ones, our society. Freedom is being able to choose who controls you. I would rather choose someone who loves me a lot and knows who I am to control me, and this person is none other than God. God knows exactly what will make us feel satisfied, and only He can give us true joy!