Right behavior does not necessarily lead to true to identity, but true identity will eventually produce right behavior. The first looks like holiness; the second is."(R.Rohr "Radical Grace" p. 260)
Who am I really? That's the never ending question for me and probably for many others as well. Will the real Ed please stand up.
When I think of the times in my past when I've acted out it has never been the real me. It was either a defense mechanism or an attention getter.
My sense is that the real Ed is somewhat shy and doesn't want the limelight. The clown prince Ed though gets the laughs. But sometimes takes things a bit too far.
It is also true that there are folks who put on an equally good mask of right behavior. They'll talk it up, but a closer examination and a deeper look will show something radically different. You can act appropriately but if underneath the surface something entirely different is boiling, you're not presenting the real you.
I do believe in a theology of God saw that it was good, call it Genesis 1. That when we are truly being the people made in the image of God, right behavior is natural and not an act.
I don't believe that our true selves want to be bad, but when we become so self-conscious of our actions, I wonder if we're really being good because it's all we know how to do, or because we fear something else.
Blessings,
Ed
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