A job is an amazing thing. It not only has the incredible ability to pay your mortgage and put your kids through college, it also can define your very identity.

I've seen it many times. After searching for their raison d'etre (which, I believe, is French for "excuse to get out of bed in the morning,") my coworkers embrace their jobs as the source of their identity. They not only do their jobs throughout the workday, but they become their jobs. I have a hard time separating the person from the work. Bob, for instance, is more "Boss" than "Bob." All the authority that Ernie the janitor possesses is in his 17-pound key ring. And I have to wonder if Sue the coffee cop would cease to exist if someone made a fresh pot of coffee after emptying the previous pot.

I actually saw one car in our company lot with vanity license plates reflecting our company's marketing tagline. While I admire this guy's company loyalty, I am hoping that he hasn't adopted the company's brand as his identity. And when he takes another job some day, how many times is he going to have to explain what his license plates mean?

Measuring Self-worth
There are certainly plenty of aspects of work that can feed a person's identity and self-esteem if you let them. Salary comes to mind as the preeminent guide to worker and, sometimes, self-perceived human value. But the problem with a salary is that it's not a good external yardstick. Unless you tell them, other people don't know how much money you make (the painful Salary Memo Incident of 2002, notwithstanding). If other people don't know your salary, it's kind of hard to gloat about it. And telling them borders on tacky. Well, OK, probably steps way over that line.

Of course, you can flaunt your salary with a little conspicuous consumption, but that's not foolproof, either. Now that every U.S. citizen is guaranteed at least seven credit cards, buying stuff for the purposes of showing off is more the rule than the exception.

So, people look for more tangible indicators of their identity at work.

My Cell Phone Can Beat up Your Cell Phone
These days, office workers turn to technology to confer status. In fact, in many ways it's an all-out technology arms race today, and it gets ugly. One guy—they are always guys when it comes to technology one-upmanship—shows up at a meeting with a color screen cell phone. The next day, someone brings a camera phone that can connect with the Internet. On day three, someone else enters with the combination cell phone and PDA (Precocious Demanding Accessory) with built-in GPS (Gratuitous Place Specifier). It finally gets out of hand when the boss arrives at a meeting with a combination laptop, photocopier, espresso machine and electronic fish finder. Granted, it's a handy tool for those times when he is answering e-mail and enjoying a coffee beverage in the canoe on the lake. But I'll stick with my paper calendar and PWP (Portable Wood Pencil).

Parking spaces also say, "I have more value than you." One company I worked for had a clear hierarchy of parking. Most of us poor slobs parked in city lots miles from the office. But some very special employees, based on rank, were conferred the privilege of parking inside the building. And there were ranks of Building Parkers. Most people parked in white placard spots, but directors and above got to park in yellow placard spaces. The highest of the mighty actually had reserved yellow placard spots. Oh, how we pined to be a Reserved Yellow Placard Parker some day.

Of course, if you're looking to a parking space for status, you need to consider what you park there. For instance, my 1986 Ford Escort hatchback would besmirch the value of practically any parking space the company saw fit to provide.

A Title By Any Other Name
Titles are also a great way for employees to register status. For some people, titles are infinitely more valuable than salary increases or bonus payouts, because everyone knows right away what your title is. And unlike sharing your salary when you meet someone for the first time, mentioning your title is socially acceptable. Come to think of it, why even use your name when you have a great title?!

"Hi, I'm Tom. I don't believe we've met."

"Hello, I'm the Assistant Associate Director of Corporate Initiatives and Strategic Research Programs. But you can call me Assistant Associate Director."

I admit that I have a weakness for titles. In fact, I eagerly accepted a promotion from Senior Account Executive to Senior Account Executive and Assistant Vice President. There was no salary increase, no office relocation (not even a placard parking space), but I didn't care. I was the Senior Account Executive and Assistant Vice President of a seven-employee ad agency. Hey, I was a force to be reckoned with! I expected clients to bow in reverence and coworkers to speak in hushed tones when I entered a room. And I did detect a noticeable atmosphere of respect when it was my turn to empty the trashcans every Wednesday.

Finding Our Identity in Christ
Paul made it clear that as believers of Jesus Christ, our identity should exist in Jesus. In 1 Timothy 4, Paul reminds believers to place their hope, not in the things of the world, but in the living God. He told the church at Colassae the same thing in Colossians 3, reminding them that their lives were hidden in Christ, and he encouraged them to put on a new nature.

Today Paul's words challenge us to not allow our parking space, salary, office location or any other accoutrement of work define us. We need to avoid letting the novelties of this life distract us from eternity. If we build our house on the sandy soil of titles, salary or even parking spaces, we will be like the foolish man who built his house—his identity—on sand. When the rains fall, the floods come, and the business goes through a seasonal rightsizing, those things all fall away.

It's right to be recognized for good work, and enjoy the benefits that come from serious labor. But don't let it become your identity. We have a much more lasting and beneficial way of defining ourselves.

Believe me, I learned this a long time ago. There's a reason I'm now an Associate Assistant Executive Senior Coordinator.

Copyright © 2005 Tom Petersen. Used with permission.

Tom Petersen works to balance his job, faith and a sense of humor in his office at a Midwest company. You can track his progress at www.HisWorkInProgress.com.