10.3 Identity as War

In this lesson we want to present an organized layout of how an individual human builds his or her own identity. The forging of a personal self-identity is the work of a life-time, although it’s basic patterns are set early in a child’s life.

Symmorphic means that humans are vessels, neither good nor evil in themselves, in their nature, or in their construction. When filled with the knowledge of God, every aspect of human nature is good and true. The absence of the knowledge of God, however, does not remove from any human the fact that their NATURE is to contain and reveal only God. You will find many non-Christians, then, who hold to their own dignity as the image and likeness of God.

An Unregenerate Heart. Every unregenerate human contains two anti-God capacities, however. The first is their spirit which fights against any entrance of the knowledge of God, which refuses to hear any good-speaking by which they are sustained every moment. That quality is a negative – working always to negate. The second is the human heart, which is a positive, that is, working always to build.

I see that we must set out a specific definition of the human heart before continuing. The human heart is the center of our human self, our “ego.” It is the place where we are personal, just like God. It is the seat of authority, designed to rule, and therefore matching God’s determination as human ambition.

God’s Design. God designed the human heart to be ambitious, that is, to rule. God designed the human heart to be the essence of our inner selves, that is, to be personal. God designed the human heart to be written upon, to be a vast depository of words and their meanings and the stories they tell. God designed the human heart to be given to another, to be part of something larger, that is, to belong. And God designed the human heart to be reciprocal, to receive, to make personal, and then to give back in return.

To be ambitious – to be personal – to be written upon – to belong – to be reciprocal – the human heart, just like God’s Heart.

Self for Self. When the human heart is darkened, that is, absent of the knowledge of God, the personal at its center remains as the human “me,” as God intends, yet it becomes something quite perverted, it becomes self for self, the ego, the “I”-not-Christ. Self for self then perverts the other four qualities of the heart to fit its own agenda, both to survive and to increase. And it is this “ego,” then, this me as me, that is entirely in charge, by God’s design, of the development of human identity as expressed through those other four qualities – ambition, story, devotion, and fellowship.

We will begin the development of our human identity, then, with the conception of the infant and its birthing into the world.

The Anointing of Demons. Yet we have titled this “identity as war,” and thus must bring in another factor, the unclean spirits that must anoint all unregenerate humans, for there is no word without spirit. All humans, from the moment they are conceived in the womb, operate as symmorphic beings inside the realms of anointing and connection provided by unclean spirits.

There are four primary qualities towards humans that all demons share. The name, “Satan,” means “the Accuser,” and thus the first quality is an unending voice accusing, accusing, accusing. The second, an advantage for the demon, is a satisfaction gained by feeding on human misery.

Human Superiority. The third, also an advantage to the demon, is a desperate need to hide from God behind any and every part of the human. The fourth is more “positive,” that stroking of the human ego to inspire arrogance and contempt. In fact, it is this action of the constant sensations of human superiority that gives the demon anonymity, a place to be unnoticed. And this human superiority imagines every demonic voice and feeling to be its own – “Hey, this is me!”

These demons are also ancient and highly experienced. Each has known many humans over the centuries and brings that knowing into each new assignment. Yet in spite of their subtlety, demons remain your enemy.

The “Wisdom” of Demons. Consider this passage from James. After establishing that the source of all our identity and the words that we speak must be the wisdom of God, James then says this, in Chapter 3. I have added the parenthetical portions.

If you have bitter jealousy and self-interest inside your heart (that is, an assertion of I-not-Christ), do not boast of it and thus lie against the truth (that Christ alone is your wisdom). This is not the wisdom coming down from above (or as John would later remember Jesus’ saying, bubbling up from within), but is earthly, soulish, and demonic (that is, coming from demons). For where false zeal (ambition matching God’s Pro-Determination, but turned in the wrong direction) and self-interest (a personal self for self) exists, there will be chaos (in the human identity) and (out of that chaos) every worthless practice.

Humans Are in Charge. But humans are the master, and so each unclean spirit shapes its present “wisdom” to fit its present master, their desires and ambitions and the shape of their world. You see, we must retain that thought, that humans are in charge, and are the only ones who actually shape their own identity and outlook.

No demon could forge your self-identity for you. You did that from the start in response to how you perceived your world. Yet you saw that world through the lens of all the people and voices, spirits and feelings operating in your life. But the first thing you knew as you were conceived in your mother’s womb was the attack of your enemy accusing you of being at fault for the empty hole that was now your heart.

Forged inside of Conflict. The truth is, then, that you came out of the womb fighting, assailed by accusation, yes, but not as a victim, rather as a dominator determined to impose your rule on your world, for that is how God made you.

All human self-identity is forged inside of conflict, by human choice and against all hurt and opposition. You have the right to speak, the right to receive, AND the right to refuse. And you have always engaged in all three by your own personal choice. The decision to become a slave cannot ever be taken away from any human. Some choose death if they cannot live free. Yet the majority choose slavery because they are afraid of death, a fear that is rooted in a profound definition of an “absent” God, that He is not-good.

No Anchor. You see, our human soul is made to be designed out from a Fellowship with God that fills our beings and anchors all our thoughts, feelings, and desires. The absence of the knowledge of God means that there is no anchor, nothing outside of ourselves to anchor our identity. We WANT TO belong, but we are afraid all things are against us.

Now, NO ONE chooses the environment into which they are born, high or low, supportive or hostile. No one chooses the circumstances coming their way, whether favorable or disastrous. And no one chooses their own personality type. But every human possesses an equal ability and right to respond as “I” see fit. A man born to wealth and a man born to whips are equal before God in their right to respond.

Full Equality. A beaten slave has the same right to arrogant superiority inside his story of self as a hardened billionaire who hates his own children. A man born to privilege and wealth has the same opportunity to be kind as a refugee fleeing with nothing. All WILL give an account in the face and presence of God and ALL will give thanks in submission to Jesus. But no one will be judged by anything given. All will be judged by what they have done with what they have been given.

Yet when we say “judged,” we don’t mean something God does to any person, we mean the story of self each one has created, whether mean and tiny or generous and vast. This is why we say that the only thing important happening on this planet is the shaping of the human heart to fit God’s.

Ambition. Let’s consider the five qualities of the human heart, then, in terms of how a child, entering a world contrary to himself, comes out fighting in the creation of a self-identity. Ambition – personal self for self – philosophy and definition – devotion – fellowship.

False ambition, or as James said, false zeal, is the need for supremacy in the human identity, the need to rule. There are few people more twisted in racism and supremacy than those who demand that others rid themselves of racism and supremacy, something no human has done or could ever do. “I am superior” and “I am in charge” (and those with whom I belong) is the determination of every human soul.

Self for Self. We are separating between the quality that is ambition, coming out from God’s command to subdue all, and the personal ego at the center of the human heart, the “ME.” Yet this self is in charge, holding onto the reigns of the other four, as wild horses, one might say, each pulling in different directions. Do I follow my need to be superior, or my need to belong? Do I follow my self-definitions and story, or my sharing of story with others? Each child soon learns to balance these four pulls in a way meant to favor himself.

The self grows in one direction only, however, and that is into further degrees of hardness. Even a “good” man develops self-rightness as the hardness of his own “goodness.”

Philosophy and Definition. The human heart is meant to be written upon by every word that is Jesus. The absence of Jesus in Person then means that every individual imposes a philosophy containing ruling definitions upon all the pathways meant for God-speaking. Much word enters a human that simply passes through and is forgotten. Yet every human grabs those ideas and definitions that seem to serve their perceived self-interest and then proceeds to craft a carefully developed philosophy of everything that will now direct the speaking of their mouth and the seeing of their eyes.

By the time a child is three and knows language, he has formed the basic definitions of reality, whether good or evil. Yet those definitions are crafted primarily to serve self for self.

Devotion. The most powerful factor in the development of the human heart, however, is the desire to belong, to devote a heart created for Another to something else.

Every worldly group, and especially political “countries” foster this quality of devotion – here is where you belong. Every belonging on offer, then, provides insignia and practices that demonstrate “I belong,” with the battle flags being the most powerful. Thus the practice of swearing one’s heart in devotion to a particular country’s battle flag, designed to inspire people to kill one another, is most wicked. The Father requires 100% devotion to Himself. A heart that pretends to be devoted to God, but holds a .00001 margin for “country” cannot know the Father’s love.

Fellowship. We are using the word “fellowship” to reference the capacity of the human heart to reciprocate, to hear, to make one’s own, and to repeat back in a personal way. The development of language in a child happens entirely in fellowship with his mom and dad.

This is why the practice of making kids of the same age the primary social group in which a child develops reciprocity is truly evil. People imagine that children learn reading and writing in “school.” No, they learn immaturity, rebellion, and how to hurt one another. But most of all they learn how worthless they are and how to be controlled. Self-respect comes only from reciprocity, that’s why most learn only disrespect, even at home.

Becoming Real. This is not meant to be a study of broken human identity and how it is forged inside of an awfulness that can only be called gehenna. Rather, we have provided the outline, and the learner can fill in many details from his or her own life experience.

Yet each of these five qualities of the human heart remains God’s design, and thus meant for good in themselves, no matter how dark and perverted they become during the time of ignorance and rebellion. And every direction the ego at the center chooses to go, every aspect of identity is crafted in constant combat, under attack by demons, by circumstances, and by other people.

The entrance of Christ into our hearts, then, fills all five of these qualities to perfection – making us to be real humans.