Identity Angst vs. Identity Theft
Jessica Greer
All of life is a quest in which one seeks to find freedom, independence, and identity, and youth can be a period of learning and growing beyond the juvenile immaturities tempting most teens.
But in America adolescence has become a phase of life in which many teens “cast off all restraint.”
They have been told that because they are young and innocent they must experience the world for themselves in order to truly find their identity.
While a natural identity anxiety that borders on crisis is present during the teen years, it is vital that the complexities of the teen’s identity maintain a healthy reference point of truth and godliness.
George Bernard Shaw’s observation on the irony of youth was: “Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children.”
The two-edged sword of youth is that on the one hand, these years are full of verve and passion during which teens have curiosity and boldness.
But rebellion and stubbornness can turn identity angst into identity theft.
Teen identity may be lost to immorality, materialism, drugs, and lascivious living.
During these years of self-discovery it is most important not to miss God while trying to find oneself and instead become shackled by sin.
The mythological story of Daedalus and Icarus shows how freedom and independence when not managed prudently can bring about a tragic demise.
The skillful artificer Daedalus and his son Icarus were shut up by King Minos in a tower so high that the only escape was to fly. Daedalus constructed two pairs of wings from real feathers woven together with wax and the two prepared for their daring escape by air. “You will feel the power of flight, my son,” he told Icarus, “but you must not fly too high because the sun will melt the wax, and you must not fly too low or the sea will dampen your wings. Just follow close behind me.”
But as they set out, Icarus began to gain confidence and adrenaline. Faster and higher he flew, ignoring the warnings his father had given him.
Eventually Icarus flew too high and the sun began to melt his wings. Too late his father saw him and watched him plummet to his death in the sea below.
In Luke 15-11-32 Jesus tells the parable of the Prodigal Son, a young man who comes of age and decides to explore his newfound freedom with his inheritance. Pleasure turns into tragedy when this young man finds himself living in a pig pen eating muck, having squandered his inheritance on frivolous pleasures of the flesh.
Ecclesiastes 11:9 says this, “Be happy, young man, while young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.”
Identity theft is the devil’s tool to redefine a teen by degrading their true identity in Christ.
Freedom and identity are to be explored with discretion. Remember that there are judgments for sins regardless of age.
God can use this time in your life to impart wisdom beyond your years, and favor you could never contrive.
Remember the stories of David and Joseph who began to enter their destinies at a young age and who eventually found themselves as biblical heroes.
The utmost imperative in surviving teen angst – without getting completely ripped off, and given an identity by the world you never expected – is in Psalm 119:10-11: “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”