Which Comes First, Identity or Behavior?

I am not perfect, and I will struggle with the “old Jim,” who was and is influenced by American culture, narratives and values. But the key is that identity comes before behavior. We almost always do the reverse: we define identity on the basis of behavior; we tell people what they must do (imperative) to find out who they are (indicative).

Paul does the opposite: he tells them who they are and then how they should live. The more we grow into the story [of God in Jesus], the more the story grows into us.

Stanley Hauerwas, who is a Christian pacifist … explains it well: “The…