Editor’s Note: This essay has been adapted from a devotional Sunday School lesson at FCBC Walnut. You can listen on YouTube and Podcasts. The following is an edited version of the audio transcript. There may be spelling or grammatical errors.
Spotify Wrapped is a year-end recap of the songs you’ve listened to throughout the year. It has become an annual event that many share about on social media. Interestingly, some have used it as a tool to shape and signal their identity. While most are content with what is contained in their report, there are some who are ashamed of their results. They will try to manipulate the algorithm so that it reflects what they want it to show—instead of it being an actual representation of their listening habits.
For instance, if you listen to piano music or film scores while you study, that’s going to have an outsized appearance on your Spotify Wrapped. But if you don’t want your Spotify Wrapped to be just piano music and film scores, you might manipulate the algorithm by playing your favorite artists at night when you’re sleeping. There are others who are aware that Spotify will do this recap, so they’ll make it a point to curate their listening habits throughout the year just so their report is to their liking.
Projecting and Signaling Images
This is an example of how you can project an image of yourself to the public. You want to be perceived a certain way. You want others to look at you and say that you have good taste, you are interesting, you listen to music that is maybe not mainstream. It’s a form of trying to portray yourself in a different way.
Another name for this is signaling. You want to show people who you are. When your Spotify Wrapped looks good, you’re showing your interests and what you like. It’s a way to say, “This is who I am.” And you want people to see you in this way. In other words, you’re shaping your identity. You craft and curate your image so that you look a certain way, even though it might not be who you really are.
Remember, your Spotify Wrapped is just a way to show what you’ve listened to the most throughout the year. It might or it might not reflect who your actual favorite artist is. It’s just a report of what you listen to throughout the year. And so Spotify Wrapped is a small way of showcasing your identity, with the possibility to manipulate it to appear a certain way. Is this something that Christians should be doing?
Misshapen and Misplaced Identities
Let’s step back for a second. Spotify can be a silly example. I think there are other ways that we might try to shape or craft our image so that we appear differently in front of others. For instance, you might dress a certain way because you want to project a certain impression of yourself. Perhaps you post something online—maybe it’s a quote, or maybe it’s art—to make people think that you’re something you’re not.
You can see how posting is a performative type of act. When you post on social media or you share something, you can shape how others perceive you. Posting can be a type of posturing. And this also plays out in real life: People will try to shape their identity by what cars that they drive, where they live, or what kind of house they have.
In addition to misshaping your identity, you can also misplace your identity. For instance, if you have a specific job, you might start saying that your job is actually who you are. “I am my job.” Or you might go to a certain college and you put your identity in that. “I am my college.” We associate our identities around the wrong things. You can see how identity plays a big role, not just in small things like Spotify, but through all of our life. We can craft and place our identity in different things. Is it good for Christians to do this?
In Christ
The answer is no. Our identity is not meant to be shaped by ourselves. Our identity is not to be found in the things of this world. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.”
There’s a lot in this verse. But there are at least two points I need you to see. The first is that you’re in Christ. This is how Christians see ourselves—we see ourselves as being in Christ. We all come from Adam and we all are affected by his fall. But we find coverage, we find safety in Christ. And so that’s why Christians can say that we identify with Christ. We no longer identify with our first father, Adam. Instead we identify with the new Adam, Jesus. That’s why we say our identity is in Christ.
A New Creation
The second point is that we’re a new creation. This means that we were once an old creation. And maybe that’s stating the obvious, but I think it helps us understand what it means when we say we’re a new creation. The world likes to think that you are a blank slate when you are born, and you get to craft whatever personality or image that you want for yourself.
But Christians do not believe that man is a blank slate from birth. We believe that man is born with a fallen nature. We believe that man is already sinful from birth. And even before you were born, even before humanity existed, God existed. So what you need to do is to expand the scope of your mind, expand the scope of your personal story, and try to see things from a biblical perspective. Even before space and time existed, there was just God. He is the beginning and the end.
You don’t get to just choose who you want to be. You don’t get to shape your life and craft your identity. Unfortunately, your identity has been set from before the world: You have a sinful nature, and you are an enemy of God. This is the same story for all of us. We are fallen creatures who need a savior. This is the ultimate narrative of our life.
And so when you see it from that perspective, you see that it’s silly to start placing our identity in things other than Jesus. They don’t matter. It does not matter what car you drive. It does not matter what college you go to or what career you have. What really matters is if you are in Christ, and if you’re a new creation.
The world thinks we’re a blank slate able to shape our own story and craft our own identities. The Bible presents to us a different picture. We’re born as enemies of God. But when we become reconciled to Jesus, our identity then becomes in Christ, and our safety is in the cross. Our salvation is secure.
When we’re reconciled, it makes us God’s children. This is our blood-bought identity. Everything else starts to fall into place, and you can see your life from a bigger perspective, when you start seeing yourself as God’s child.
Objection: Is my personality overridden?
Here’s an objection. What happens to the things that I actually like? What about my desires? Is my personality overridden when I become a Christian? Does being in Christ cancel out everything that I actually enjoy?
This is a difficult question to answer. The immediate answer is no—it doesn’t. But the long-term answer would be yes, it does. Let me explain, and I want us to stop thinking about these smaller examples. I want us to think bigger.
Being a Christian means that you submit to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It means you want to start conforming your will to his. It means you want to become holy. It means you want to start having the mind of Christ. There are certain things that you might like and enjoy in your sinful nature. And God is going to change that. He will change things that are not holy in you. He will purify your heart.
Does that mean that things like cars and colleges and careers are silly? No, I don’t think so. But you’ll see that Christ changes your priorities. He’ll change the way you view cars and colleges and careers. He’ll change your disposition towards things like status and wealth and pleasure. Christ changes what you care about and what you value. As you go through life, and as you grow in Christ, Jesus shapes and changes your priorities.
Your goals change as you give your life to Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.” Jesus changes your outlook on everything. Life itself is no longer about you, but it’s about God. In fact, Christ becomes your life. And this perspective changes how you live your life.
Three Implications
Here are the three implications for the idea that our identity belongs in Jesus.
First, God knows our hearts. We have a tendency to present ourselves in certain ways to the world, but God knows our hearts. He knows who we really are on the inside. There’s no fronting. There’s no pretending with God. You can’t try to disguise or hide yourself in front of God.
Second, authenticity matters. We should present ourselves as we really are. We can admit that we are sinners. We can say sorry when we’ve done wrong. We can admit that we’ve messed up. That’s what being authentic means. It means presenting ourselves in a realistic way, in an appropriately realistic way. And this shows that we are broken people and that we need Jesus. Authenticity matters because the truth matters. And when you are able to say that you are broken, and that you do need Jesus — that’s when you can start talking about Jesus. Broken people will not find a need to pretend, but broken people will see their need for a Savior. We want to do our best to present ourselves with authenticity.
Our third implication is to root ourselves in Christ. Your likes and dislikes — they’re going to change throughout your life. Your priorities and plans will change. But when your identity is rooted in Jesus, nothing will change your outlook on the world. Your circumstances and your situations will change, but when you are rooted in Christ — you’re unshakable. Money doesn’t matter anymore. Your college and your careers don’t matter anymore. Signs of power and prestige, they don’t matter anymore. You can literally let it all go because you know that you are safe and secure. Your identity rests in Jesus.
Dying to Self and Resurrecting with Jesus
Here’s a quick example to illustrate what we’ve just learned. Marriage changes people. When you get married, you find out that you lose a little bit of your identity. But your identity starts to be tied together with somebody else. This can be both good and bad. But the point is that marriage changes you as a person. In the same way, when you start identifying with Jesus—it’s going to change you as a person. And when you identify with Jesus, he will only change you for good because he’s perfect, holy, God.
And that’s kind of the idea: You identify with him, you become one with him. Christ changes our minds and our hearts. He changes our goals, he changes our priorities, he changes our attitudes and behaviors. Some of these changes happen immediately. Some of them will come over time, but you will not lose yourself. You will die to yourself. That’s what happens. You die to yourself. And then you find yourself resurrected, and one with Jesus.
The Song of Your Heart
Spotify Wrapped is about the songs that you listen to and the songs that you enjoy. For the Christian, there’s a different song that will not show up on your Spotify Wrapped, but I think it’s the song that should be the most prominent throughout your entire life. Ephesians 5:18 says: “Do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
The song that will not appear on your Spotify Wrapped is the song that’s inside of your heart. It’s a melody that’s meant for Christ alone. It’s a song that says that you love the Savior more than anything else. When your heart finds your identity, your worth, and your value in him — Jesus becomes the song of your heart. His is a song that you won’t be ashamed of.