Who Are You?

Who do you think you are? Do you really know? Are you an artist, an athlete, a stay at home mom, or an entrepreneur? Maybe you would rather define yourself by how you look…fashionable or old fashioned, thin or plump, short or tall, beautiful or plain? Perhaps it seems more fitting to bring up the important causes you support, “stop abortion, save the earth, eat vegan.” All of these things are a fact of our exis­tence. We all have jobs and skills, bodies to clothe, and worthy causes in life to support, but do these really define you? Do you want them to define you? Do these things reach the core of your being? Would you be happy to have your closest friends and family say they love you because of how you look? How about because you are talented or have a good job? All of us know that there is a deeper side to our existence than these.

Personally I do not want to be identified by my looks, job, or interests; nor do I define myself by any of these things! If I define myself by what I do, when I lose the ability to do what I do…then who am I? What if I define myself by my looks? When I grow old, have I lost myself? When the values of the world deteriorate and I can no longer follow fashion or trend, have I also lost who I am because I cannot continue to follow what appears popular at the moment? And while causes can hold some worth, this also is only a minute part of the whole picture…who would you be if the need for the cause disappeared?

So what is it that truly describes the inner part that is you? I would like to share with you a quote by Gila Menoleson in her book Outside Inside, A Fresh Look at Tzniut.

“For if you have pared away the layers of ‘what I have, what I do, and what I support,’ you have reached the core of who you are. Internality means knowing that your deepest self lies in your efforts to become a better human being–and then acting on that knowledge, with the Torah’s guidance, in your relationships with others and with [Elohim]. That and that alone, is tremendously liberating, for it frees you from having to build an identity based on society’s constantly changing values. It is also empowering, for the strength of your soul to choose good is the only aspect of you which is independent of any outside force. Unlike your looks, your abilities, or your causes, it cannot be lost, be taken away, or disappear. It is yours forever.” (Pgs. 79-80)

Is what she says true? Will my efforts to become a better human being, in light of Yahweh’s Word, define me better than the exter­nal factors in my life?

What are some of the internal values which Yahweh requires of us as believers? Kindness, hospitality, loving, forgiving, content­ment, humility, and obedience, to name a few. Are you kind, are you hospitable, do you love, can you forgive, are you content, are you humble, will you obey Him? Can you let Him set you apart from this world? Each of us must look within to know the an­swers to these questions. With His strength we can be made able to be who we should be as believers. In the end we must discover that Yahweh sees us as we are; as souls, and His children.

Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Yahweh require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy Elohim?”

Second Peter 1:3-10 tells us that Messiah has given us all things that pertain unto life and holiness. We are to be overcomers and, through His power, we will succeed! Seeing ourselves as inter­nal beings does not mean we must abandon our external being, our appearance, what we do, or what we support. Rather, we can allow these things to reflect the inner values that make us who we are.

Does the way you dress reflect a soul that respects our Creator, yourself, and others? Do the things you do and support witness to others of Yahweh’s infinite goodness and your desire to live obediently and to delight in Him? It’s not likely that you can present yourself to the world as one who will go with the flow and still be set apart. Yahweh calls us to be set apart and, in time, this should touch every aspect of our being.

In 2 Peter 1:8-9, we are reminded that when He empowers us to overcome, we will not be unfruitful and that we should not be like the blind man who has forgotten that he has been purged of his sins. If we abandon our quest to overcome by asking Yah­weh’s help to empower us in this, then we have become as the blind man in verse 9! Our internal self, the core of who we are, is meant to overflow into the physical aspects of our life as a witness to the watching world. We are also being true to our­selves when, as believers, we strive to allow the uniqueness that Yahweh has called us in, to spill over into how we relate to those around us and how we present ourselves to the world.

Romans 8:13, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

Psalms 40:8, “I delight to do thy will, O my Elohim: yea, thy law is within my heart.”

Psalms 34:14, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

So these questions remain: Who are you? Who should you be? Do you know what you were created for?

As believers it is our privilege to be guided by His truth. The correction we receive in life is due to His great love for us. Do you resist His loving correction? Do you feel threatened by His laws? Are you intimidated when He speaks through a fellow brother or sister in the faith to correct you or to guide you into a more perfect understanding of His truth? Or do you see it as guidance from a loving father? When we accept His guidance and obey His word it should be out of the realization that He cre­ated all of this for us out of love.

Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son (daughter), despise not the chasten­ing of Yahweh; neither be weary of his correction: For whom Yahweh loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son (daughter) in whom he delighteth.”

So, who am I? A daughter of a king, a set apart child of Yahweh, privileged to be cared for by the creator of the universe! What was I created for? To delight in him and for him to delight in me, to overcome the plans of the evil one in my life, and to encour­age my dear sisters to do the same. Let’s “worship Yahweh in the beauty of holiness” (Psalms 29:2) by choosing daily to allow Yahweh’s Word to touch the outward shell of who we are as a representation of who He has called us to be….daughters of the King.

by: Jennifer Bonato