Identity is very important to all species and especially mankind.
At conception, the sex of a child is determined by either the XX or XY Chromosome present in the DNA structure, male or female.
Our ethnicity identifies our ancestral roots and culture, and our parents identify the family we were born into, so identity is important.
Our ethnicity identifies our ancestral roots and culture, and our parents identify the family we were born into, so identity is important.
Tripartite – The Human Components
Christians believe humans are three-part beings in that they have a physical body that houses their spirit and then they have a soul which comprises the mind, emotions, will and senses. The premise for this is from Genesis 2:7.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7, (KJV)
So this implies that God formed man’s body from dust and His breath made man into a living soul.
God Created Mankind in His Image
Scriptures tell us that God made man in His image and likeness Genesis 1:26-27.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27 (KJV)
God created humankind like Him, as a three-part being. Christians know God as a three part being; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
As human beings, we are a living soul; we are spirit housed in a body and when we die, our spirit and soul exit our bodies and live on eternally, just like God and our bodies go back to dust.
Our Spirits Do Not Sleep
God is a Spirit, and He does not slumber, neither does He sleep.
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:3-4 (NKJV)
Like God, our spirits don’t sleep either.
Out Of Body Experiences.
Some people have had either out-of-body experiences, where they could hover over their bodies during an operation, under sedation, yet be conscious of their environment as they float around and describe in detail, what they saw.
So how were these people able to be cognitive with all their senses while their bodies were lying unconscious and or unresponsive?
Both of the above experiences show we are three-part beings. We have a soul that forms our mind, will and emotions and a spirit, all able to exist outside our bodies in another realm, and a body.
mage by S. Hermann / F. Richter from Pixabay
Synergy With Our Spirit, Soul and Body is Essential
To live our lives at the optimal level designed by our creator requires congruence with all three parts of our being. We see Jesus model this when he said:
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. John 5:30 (NKJV)
Many times, after doing miracles and spending time with crowds of people, he often withdrew to be by himself with the Father. I believe that in doing so; He was grounding Himself making sure that His mind was not running away with what the crowds wanted, which He knew was not God’s will.
He also said: “…I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 (NKJV)
When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness after 40 days of fasting, He responded to all three temptations of the Devil with: “It is written” followed by a quote from verses in the book of Deuteronomy 8:1-3, 6:16 and 6:13. The temptation account is in Matthew 4:1-11.
He was going to remain aligned to the Trinity rather than breaking ranks and aligning His will with the devil’s at his vulnerable moment, even though His needs were valid.
If Jesus had succumbed to the devil, it would have brought chaos into his inner world because that alliance brings with it everything the devil represents into his being, and the Trinity would have been out of alignment as well.
Root of The War Within
When we are out of agreement with one part of our tripartite, we create chaos within and it’s impossible to live our best lives when we’re living at war within ourselves.
We all have things that cause us to be at war within. It could be as simple as battling the urge to eat another slice of that cheesecake to more serious struggles with addictions that take us on a downward spiral.
When we are out of agreement with one part of our tripartite, we create chaos within and it’s impossible to live our best lives when we are living at war within ourselves.
The Apostle Paul was no stranger to inner struggles. See Romans 7:21-25.
Our spirit is the part of us that is more attuned with the Spirit of God, and who we truly are at the core of our being and what we were born to do on earth.
However, our minds can sometimes overrule what our spirit tells us because of what we are feeding our minds on, which subsequently becomes our belief system, right or wrong.
The Disconnect
So, how do we become disconnected from who we are and our purpose in life?
Though we are born with our minds a blank slate, at the core of our being, the unique seed of treasure deposited in our DNA structure by our maker lies dormant, waiting to bud and flourish when nourished well.
The nourishment allows a child to connect to their purpose freely, unrestricted and healthily.
Influences on God’s Seed Within Us
The family belief systems, genetics and social culture we’re born into, has an enormous influence on whether the seed in us, deposited by our creator, buds freely or it if will grow with weeds that has the potential to choke the seed.
See the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-29. I believe the principle holds true to the above statementas explained above.
If a parent believes that repeatedly speaking negative words over their child and belittling them is parenting, what they’re doing is stunting the seed and encouraging the weeds.
Those negative actions train their child that it is acceptable to be abused and for others to make them feel worthless.
The disconnect begins as the child becomes more familiar with that negative voice and disconnected from the seed of his or her maker.
This sets them up to always feel that they are not enough, and it also creates restrictions around their ability to connect in a wholesome manner and if they do connect with purpose, they do so with baggages such as narcism, fears and other forms of insecurities they use as a mechanism in defence against the negative narrative warring within them or how they perceive they’re viewed by others.
Bullied at School
So the abused child goes to school and may be unfortunate to be surrounded by other wounded kids, I don’t know how, but abused kids can smell abuse on each other and single out the one who displays less resistances to being bullied.
The bully among them may feel that if the focus of abuse is on another other than themselves, then they are ‘king’ amongst their peers and any kid on the receiving end is having the negative voice, already in their heads, reinforced. This not to say that all children bullied at school have been abused at home, but children abused at home are more likely to either be bullied or be the bully.
Social Media
Social media exposes all children to a lot of pressure, as people can comfortably hide behind the web to weaponise written words and bullying tactics against others.
The abused child is more vulnerable, as they have a tendency to seek affirmation in others and sometimes without a proper sense of boundaries in what is acceptable and what is not.
Compounded because the abuse has already disconnected the abused from who they truly are, they are oblivious when interacting on social media, that they’re in a predator’s paradise, as they rarely sense red flags. Without early intervention, this cycle continues into adulthood.
The Weeds Can Takeover
Some adults nurtured on a negative spectrum may end up perpetually seeking affirmation in abusive romantic relationships and toxic friendship circles. Others may become successful, but emotionally absent.
It’s hard for these adults to realise there is a problem, as we build mechanisms early on to deal with pain and it becomes part of us and hard to see outside of our inner struggles.
The weed takes over the field and can become an unruly forest.
It may not have begun with negative words, it could be more covert behaviour like neglect, emotional absence by one or both parents or other subtle forms of abuse.
The outcome is almost always rebellion by the child or passive aggression. They eventually, subconsciously, take over from their parents and feed their weeds.
So how far can this disconnection affect our identities and how can we change the negative trajectory to a positive outcome? Watch out for my next blog, Identity Disconnect, The Thief of True Destiny Part 2.
For further information on mankind as a three part being click this link.
Joanne Sojinu, Author A Mother’s Prayers, Week-by-Week Devotional For Your Unborn Child.