When I think about an alter ego, I immediately think of the Beyonce album, "I Am... Sasha Fierce". This was the first time I really paid serious attention to the fact that people really embraced their alter egos. And of course, after Beyonce proclaimed hers as Sasha Fierce, everyone had an alter ego. Many of you may know what your alter ego is. I don't. Honestly, I used to think that if I had an alter ego, I had too many personalities. I thought it would only confuse me as to who I really was. So I just went with Brittany and left it at that. Haha! But an alter ego may not be a bad thing depending upon how you look at it....
An alter ego is defined as: a second self or different version of oneself: such as
a: a trusted friend
b: the opposite side of a personality
Usually an alter ego is associated with the not-so-good side of a person- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, for example. It's the person that surfaces from someone's subconscious when they want to tell someone how they really feel, do something that they probably shouldn't do, or when they want to just be wild and free. But an alter ego can also be someone created to do good in the world or even help carry out dreams and ambitions. For example, Spiderman for Peter Parker or Hannah Montana for Miley Cyrus.
A lot of times, we need real world examples to help us understand things. And by now, you're probably wondering, where in the world is she going with this? Well, I began to ponder this thought: what if we decided to surrender our behaviors, thoughts, desires, dreams, aspirations and all of who we are to our subconscious to be our alter ego- the other side of our personality- while we allow God to be the primary version of ourselves? So this means, I no longer exist and the character of God in me is who I really am at all times.
Ok....you have to stay with me here....
Just think about how often an alter ego surfaces and why? Not very often unless your alter ego is who you really want to be and in that case, we are talking about something otherwise known as an identity crisis and that's a totally different subject all together. But usually a person with an alter ego only needs this person when a situation arises that calls for their alter ego. Well, in the case of God and us, if He [The Holy Spirit inside of us] has total control, then we [the person we were before we were born again] should not have to surface at any point in time. This is how we should be with God, totally surrendered to His will and His ways that the person we used to be doesn't come out again. Is that the case? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Should that be the case? Always. When it comes to professing Christ as Savior and serving God, who we used to be should be so far in the back of our minds and subconscious that we forget that sinful, fleshly person existed. God should not only have our heart, but He should also consume our personality and total being. This way, we can make sound decisions, control our emotions, treat people fairly, love properly, and serve God the right way.
I thought of a few verses (of course there are more) that tell us how sovereign and pronounced God's presence should be in our lives:
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” - Proverbs 3:5 KJV
(and my favorite of these) “He must increase, but I must decrease.” - John 3:30 KJV
As a believer, everything that we do should bring glory to God. Everything we say should honor Him. How we think should reflect His thoughts. I know this seems impossible, and it may even seem strange to some, but the best that we can do is try. We should try to give all of who we are and want to be to The Lord so that He can become the person that lives inside of us who causes us to be who we NEED to be at all times. We have to trust His rule, listen to The Holy Spirit, and follow His plan. It is by far one of the hardest things to do because we trust ourselves more than we trust The One who made us. But it is certainly possible. I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to take time each day to examine a part of you that you need God to take control of, and commit to allowing Him to do just that. I would love to hear your success story and how God turned you into your alter ego and made Himself the main character in your life!
I want you to...
RIFY - Matthew 16, Colossians 3 & 4, Proverbs 3, John 3
Be.Blessed ~ Brittany D.