Many miss this, which is why our kids suffer with identity crises.
“Sports are not who kids are.
They are something that they do.
You’d think they know this..
That it’s assumed.
But it isn’t.
They have to be affirmed of the notion by their leaders.
And many kids have identity issues because they are never taught to find themselves.”
-Ray Zingler on X
Again, you’d like to think this is a common sense, “duh” concept.
But it’s not.
They must be taught (and regularly affirmed) that their identity isn’t predicated on sports success, what team they make, or how others perceive them as athletes.
Their identity has jack shit to do with SAT scores, GPAs, AP classes, or which colleges they get into.
They are not less because who they constantly compare themselves to on social media seem to be more.
His “big” muscles and her “perfect” body that they are comparing themselves to, gets in their head. And it stays there.
Think about it rationally for a minute.
We put pressure on and overload our kids schedules with school, prep classes, standardized tests, practices, games, showcases, & etc.
It’s excessive and it’s unrelenting.
When they do get a few minutes of downtime they spend it doom scrolling, looking at snapshots of other people’s (perceived) perfect lives.
When do they have time to find their true selves?
Who they truly are beyond any of this window dressing, that in the end, means very little?
They aren’t in church on Sunday’s.
They’re not learning that their (real) identity comes from Jesus Christ who designed & created them specifically to be uniquely themselves.
“Oh my gosh he went there!”
You’re damn right I did.
Kids must be taught that they are more than what they do.
Jimmy isn’t a baseball player.
Jimmy plays baseball.
Sarah isn’t an academic star.
Sarah does well in school.
If tying their identities to their activities was healthy, would we see the mental brokenness we see in our youth today, that is at scale we’ve never seen before?
Could there be a better way?
What if we taught them that their identity is found in their selfless service of others, you know, the ultimate example Christ lived and died for us on the cross when they violently nailed Him to it?
Help them become the best they can be at sports. I will, too.
Excel in the classroom. Take pride in school.
But never lose sight of the fact that their identities have nothing to do with homeruns or A+’s.
Believing that only leads to the rampant identity crises’ we see in our kids today.
