How authentic are you?

Being the synod lecture delivered by Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbọ Awolọwọ Dosumu at the first session of the Third Synod of the Diocese of Ijẹbu South/West, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) at cathedral church of St. Paul, Odogbolu, on Saturday, May 6, 2017.

ONE of my favourite definitions of identity is, ‘the distinguishing character or personality of an individual’.

Given this definition, the important question becomes, ‘what defines you, or me, as individuals?’ In other words, ‘Who are you? and Who am I?’

If we are honest, we will admit that everyone of us exhibits numerous and various personae, depending on each situation or circumstance. We can conjure up ten different personalities in as many minutes, as occasion demands it. In fact,some people’s real selves are so deeply ‘buried’ under a load of false personalities that the character behind ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ looks like a boy scout in comparison.The tragedy is that over time, suchpeople, quite unfortunately, tend to actually believe their own lie.

On the other hand, some people are so lacking in self-esteem because they are convinced that their identity depends, solely, on other peoples’ opinion of them. Such people spend their entire lives trying to please others, but in the end please no-one, not even themselves.

A writer once said,“One of the greatest tragedies in life is to lose your own sense of self and accept the version of you that is expected by everyone else”.

Again, there are some who create elaborate masks and spend their entire lives behind those masks of disguise and pretence.

But, when the entire façade is taken down, who, really, is the person behind the mask? As pilgrims destined for the eternal kingdom, it is absolutely vital that we conduct periodic reality checks on ourselves particularly, and on our loved ones so that we do not miss the prize, ultimately (1 Cor. 9: 24-27).

Life and Labels

We all live our lives wearing a series of labels.I will highlight a few, including those that have to do with relationships, occupation, profession, religion and character.

An individual is, in a lifetime, someone’s offspring, spouse, parent, grandparent, even great-grandparent. For those who are truly blessed, a phase comes in life when they are all of the above! Each of these labels demands a completely different and distinct persona – at once compassionate, affectionate,strict,doting and indulgent, as each relationship demands.

At some point in life, an individual probably adds to all of these yetanother persona in connection with his or her livelihood, whether in paid or self-employment. An individual in paid employment that wishes to retain his job has to keep superiors happy and subordinates in check. In the course of trying to achieve both, two completely opposite personalities are required.

Self-employment, on the other hand, also has its own built-in stresses of juggling between integrity and the bottom line. It calls for a different personalitytowards customers or clients, suppliers, financiers, competitorsand could range from beingsupplicatory, persuasive, to being, sometimes, downright mean and vicious. The result is a continuouspersonality switch several times, in the course of every day.

Some relationship labels have been mentioned already. But there are many others – aunt, uncle, cousin, in-law. In the Yoruba extended family culture, the list is endless and gets to a point where there are no English (or, indeed, any other language) descriptions, so everyone is simply ‘mother’, ‘sister’, ‘father’, or ‘brother’ because life becomes much less complicated that way!

Religious labels–‘Christian’, ‘Muslim’, ‘Man/Woman of God’, ‘Believer’, ‘Faithful’;

Professional labels – ‘Doctor’, ‘Lawyer’, ‘Accountant’, ‘Engineer’, ‘Carpenter’;

Occupational labels – ‘CEO’, ‘Director’, ‘Manager’, ‘Sanitation Operative’ (aka ‘cleaner’)

Corporeal labels – ‘physically challenged’, ‘disabled’, ‘fit’, ‘good looking’, ‘scruffy’, ‘sartorial’, ‘short’, ‘tall’, ‘fat’, ‘slim’.

Social labels – ‘socialite’, ‘celebrity’, ‘friendly’, ‘unfriendly’, ‘elite’, ‘low class’, ‘rich’, ‘poor’.

Online labels are probably the most mendacious of all. ‘Superman’ could just as easily be a female old age pensioner as ‘beauty’ can be a lecherous old man trying to groom an unsuspecting, lonely young girl.

Abusive labels, whether deserved or not – ‘stupid’, ‘silly’, ‘worthless’.

Character labels – ‘kind’, ‘patient’, ‘arrogant’, ‘self-centred’.

Some of these labels can be entirely false and totally inaccurate because every individual possesses the capacity, in varying degrees, for pretension and hypocrisy.

Moreover, the treatment you receive at the hands of some people may be a reflection of their opinion of you, right or wrong, treatment that can be grossly unfair because it is premised on incomplete or false information.

However, after all is said and done,is anyone really and truly defined merely by labels? More to the point, does your real identity depend on labels, even by the sum total of them?

Do you know who you are? Can you bear to admit, even to yourself, who you truly are? I intend to demonstrate as I proceed with this presentation that labels certainly cannot, ultimately define who you are.

The Futility of Labels

Jesus’ life is a perfect example of the futility of labels.

His birth was predicted with utmost specificity. He was foretold to be the expected Messiah. Yet, His social status on earth right from His birth belied any pretensions to the Ultimate Royalty that He is. It is an object lesson on the futility of social labels,

Isaiah foreshadowed the virgin birth of Jesus

In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet Isaiah addresses the “house of David,” meaning the family and descendants of King David, and speaks of a virgin being pregnant with a child, and giving birth to the child. Isaiah says this in the context of it being a sign from God. He also says that the child would be referred to as “Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.”

The New Testament books of Matthew and Luke record details involving the birth of Jesus, who was born about 700 years after the time of Isaiah, saying that he was born of the Virgin Mary and is the Son of God.

The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem

In Micah 5:2, there is a prophecy that reveals that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of the Messiah.And throughout the span of the past 27 centuries, from the days of the prophet Micah up through the present time, Bethlehem is credited as being the birthplace of Jesus Christ.The New Testament books of Matthew and Luke name the town of Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus. Matthew 2:1-6 describes the birth of Jesus as the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy.

The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah

In Genesis 49:10, Jacob is blessing his twelve sons. This blessing was also a prophecy. Jacob told his son Judah that his descendants would be rulers and that one of his descendants will be an ultimate ruler. According to the NIV translation: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” Christians acknowledge that this is a reference to Jesus Christ, whose kingdom will have no end. Jesus was born about 2000 years after Jacob died. Jesus’ ancestry is traced back to Jacob’s son, Judah, in Luke 3:23-34 and in Matthew 1:1-16. Today, there are some estimates that claim that there are as many as 2 billion Christians worldwide who follow the teachings of Jesus.

The Messiah would be a descendant of King David

In Jeremiah 23:5, as well as in other Bible prophecies, we are told that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David.The New Testament books of Matthew and Luke trace back Jesus’ genealogy to King David.

Nations would seek the counsel of Jesse’s descendant

In Isaiah 11:1-10, the prophet Isaiah speaks of a ruler who would be a descendant of Jesse. Jesse was the father of ancient Israel’s great King David. This descendant would rule with true justice and true faith, and he would establish true peace. This descendant would also become a standard for people throughout the world. And, this descendant would be sought by people throughout the world.

His Ministry

The perception of Jesus’ ministry in some quarters during His lifetime is a metaphor for the futility of the religious label.

Despite the demonstrable fulfilment of the predictions about Him, as detailed earlier, Jesus encountered the fiercest, most unrelenting and implacable opposition to His ministry from the most unlikely quarters – the religious leaders of His time. Surely, theywere experts in the scriptures and, therefore, would have been expected, not only to know everything about the predictions concerning Jesus, but also to possess superior discernment and, therefore, be the first to recognise and acknowledge the fulfilment of those scriptures.

However, they not only missed the manifestation of the expected Messiah entirely,they were relentless in their opposition to the end, they constantlychallenged His authority (Luke 20: 1-8), and even called Him derogatory names, aptly demonstrating the futility of some other labels – the character and abusive labels. A few examples will suffice.

They said Jesus’ powers were from Beelzebub (Matthew 12: 22-28);

They called Him a liar (Matthew 8:13);

They called Him a Samaritan and demon-possessed (Matthew 8: 48).

However, Jesus was supremely confident about who He was. He knew exactly where He came from, had absolutely no doubt what His mission was on earth, how that mission would end and, ultimately, the glory that awaited Him where He was going.

to be continued tomorrow