Models of self-esteem have crippled a generation of children. “Our children need a certain positive identity,” they say. And to enhance their mental and spiritual health, we must teach them that Everybody must win in every game. No wonder grocery stores are filled with rotten kids who torture their moms when they do not get what they want. The reality is everybody must lose, in order to understand that life is filled with inexplicable moments of pain. There is, however, a form of self-identity that is biblical, and this is the identity that needs to be stressed again and again. Our identity is in Christ. His baptism is our baptism. His death is our death. His life is our life. The baptismal font, to quote Vander Zee, “becomes our coffin.” And, I might add, our empty tomb. Our identity needs to be christened. We need more death and resurrection, and less self-esteem pep talks.
