Childhood Programming - Finding Our True Identity
Learning To See The Real You With GOD's guidance.
(Feel free to click the link above and follow along. Sometimes I say more in the podcast than I write here and sometimes what is here isn’t in the podcast. Because of timing and how I feel GOD leads me… Some of what is written is more an outline for what I speak on the podcast, but there is still good information. )
In the King James Bible Luke 17 verse 21 states:
“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
My question to you is this:
If the kingdom of heaven is within us, why are we looking outside of us to get there?
Now depending on which bible interpretation, you read it may say in your midst instead. There are many versions of the bible out there and if we look at several of them, we may get a different idea as to the interpretation of the words before us. This is where the greatest confusion comes into being, in my opinion. Because they mislead the reader. In the midst or within can be interpreted differently. One means around you and one means inside you. Also, we need to look at the original language the test was written in. But, even with that, the language one speaks may decide a different word for the language we are attempting to translate. Because languages organize concepts uniquely, resulting in “lexical gaps” where a single specific term cannot perfectly translate word-for-word across borders.
With that knowledge alone, you can see why there are so many different versions and people teaching different meanings when it comes to the Bible. Different languages actually create confusion and a barrier to truly understanding meaning. The King James Bible was translated from the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. There were 47 scholars hired to undergo this task.
Old Testament: Translated from the Masoretic Text, which is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Jewish Bible.
New Testament: Translated from the Textus Receptus (or “Received Text”), a compilation of Greek manuscripts gathered by early scholars like Erasmus and Theodore Beza.
Apocrypha: Translated primarily from the ancient Greek Septuagint, though sections unavailable in Greek were sourced from the Latin Vulgate.
Someone had to have put them into Greek or Latin as some point in time.
While translating from these primary sources, the scholars also consulted earlier English iterations—notably the Bishops’ Bible and the groundbreaking work of William Tyndale.
I do not believe that GOD meant HIS words to be surrounded with such confusion... do you?
It is the devil’s job to deceive and confuse.
We will be using the ‘King James’ translation for today.
Luke 17:21
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
This is important because the way we read and interpret a text is what helps shape our beliefs.
When a teaching states that the kingdom of heaven is “within,” it generally refers to an internal state of being—peace, love, and alignment with the divine. People often look outward because of their habit of relying on physical senses, the comfort found in structured religious communities, and the natural human desire to seek purpose in the tangible world.
But GOD says we are not of this world...
John 15:19
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
The problem is that everything in this world teaches us that we need acceptance, validation, wealth, beauty, and status or popularity; fame... If we lack any of these things then we must have the ability to compete for status or be able to alter our status by whatever means available. Like education, we might be able to acquire higher paying wages to afford certain luxuries or perhaps plastic surgery to alter the beauty portion.
Human Habit of Sensory Dependence
We are conditioned to interact with the world through our five physical senses. Because of this, it is easier for the human mind to conceptualize heaven as a physical destination “up there” or “out there” rather than as an abstract, internal state of consciousness.
The five traditional human physical senses are sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. These systems detect environmental stimuli and transmit signals to the brain to help us perceive and interact with the world. To feel part of the world...
And of course, we have been programmed since children on the ways in which we must behave so we can fit in with the rest of the world… The way to fit in with the family, with our peers at school. The way to fit into our church, our job... the way to attract a suitor etc.
For those things we must seek outside of ourselves to fulfill the senses and the programming. It is a contradiction to look for heaven within... When everyone else is telling us what matters is outside of ourselves and subject to how everyone else sees us instead of how GOD himself sees us. It keeps us from seeking GOD.
With the need for acceptance and validation, we must seek mentors, teachers, and read everything on a subject to gain insight and wisdom into what? The world? The external search—whether through reading, studying, or meditating in community— isn’t necessarily bad, especially if it ultimately acts as a bridge. Where you look within and seek answers about yourself. The destination of heaven isn’t a place you travel to, but a realization of what has always been present within you. It’s something we align ourselves with.
The Kingdom of Heaven is found within because it is a state of inner resonance and divine connection, not a physical destination. We look outward because society promotes ego-driven materialism, rigid dogmas, and constant distraction, teaching us to measure our worth by external validation rather than internal peace...
Humanity is heavily conditioned by cultural and social structures that pull our attention away from the present moment. In fact, GOD had shown me in a vision that we are rarely ever in the present moment. We are always in the future. It was explained to me as this: We are always thinking ahead... everything we do is to prepare for some future moments. We need to pay the rent, pay the bills, do the laundry, get the groceries, see the doctor, go to this class on time or pay the tithe... All this is future. We plan our weeks in advance. We plan our recreation in advance. Everything in our minds is programmed to be in the future in order for us to be ahead of the game.
*When we live in the past, we find depression and regret. When we live in the future, we find stress, worry and anxiety.
This external conditioning manifests in a few keyways:
Materialism and Consumerism: Modern culture conditions us to measure our success, happiness, and identity through external achievements, possessions, and status. This fosters the illusion that fulfillment must be acquired from the outside world.
Institutional Dogma: Organized systems often position themselves as the sole intermediaries between you and the Divine. By requiring strict adherence to rigid rules, temples, or clergy, they can unintentionally shift the focus from a personal, internal connection to external compliance.
Constant Distraction: Society thrives on keeping our minds overstimulated. By normalizing constant busyness and digital connection, the external world makes it difficult to embrace the stillness and silence required to look within.
Ego-Centric Identity: From a young age, society teaches us to cultivate an ego based on “I, me, and mine.” This creates a false sense of separation from the rest of the world and from GOD, making us feel as though we need to fight for our survival and validation rather than resting in a state of innate, spiritual completeness.
When you have children and watch them play some of their first sentences around other kids is about dominance over a toy or food or something another child has. They suddenly want it. even if they rarely played with that toy before. There is a need to possess the object when someone else has it... and many people never seem to outgrow that behavior... this is why advertising uses various methods to entice you.
We want what someone else wants. It was boring or dull until we saw someone else enjoy it. Think about it. That fancy car, the girl or guy that looks just so, the career are all things that feed that type of programmed behavior. We learned it as children. By the time we hit middle school and high school, we were in competitive mode for that status and the glory that we saw which came with it.
“I want it because you have it” phenomenon, heavily driven by the principle of scarcity and social proof.
Here is why that childhood instinct never truly leaves us and how advertising exploits it:
Perceived Value: When a toy is sitting untouched, it’s boring. The moment another child shows interest, the brain registers that object as highly desirable and limited.
Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO): Advertisers manufacture this exact feeling by creating artificial scarcity—using phrases like “limited time offer” or “while supplies last”—tricking our adult brains into the same panic a toddler feels over a toy.
Social Proof: We look to others to determine the value of things. If an ad shows a crowd clamoring for a product or highlights that “everyone is buying it,” our brains automatically assume the item is valuable and worth fighting for.
Identity and Status: Just as toddlers use possessions to assert dominance, adults use luxury goods, exclusive experiences, or the latest gadgets to signal status and separate themselves from the “competition.”
Ultimately, marketing thrives on bypassing our rational, adult minds to tap into those primal, possessive instincts we all developed in the sandbox.
Beyond using attractive people (which taps into our evolutionary drive for reproduction and status), advertising relies on these specific tactics:
Primal Urges & Survival
High-Calorie Visuals: Fast food ads zoom in on melting cheese, sizzling bacon, and dripping sauces. This triggers the primitive hunter-gatherer brain, which is hardwired to seek calorie-dense food for survival.
Fear and Protection: Home security, insurance, and health ads trigger the primal need for safety. They make you feel vulnerable first, then offer their product as the only shield to protect your “tribe.”
Status & Tribalism
Artificial Scarcity: Luxury brands intentionally limit production. This mirrors the childhood playground struggle, creating an urgent urge to possess an item before someone else takes it.
Celebrity Endorsements: Seeing a high-status individual with an item triggers the primal instinct to copy the “alpha” of the tribe to secure your own social standing.
Us vs. Them Mentality: Brands like Apple or Nike build intense loyalty by making you feel part of an exclusive club. Buying the product satisfies the primitive need to belong to a group and fight against rivals
Sensory & Emotional Control
Nostalgia Tripping: Marketers use music, colors, and fonts from your childhood. This lowers your rational defenses by triggering comfort, warmth, and a time when you felt safe.
Instant Gratification: Fast shipping, “buy now” buttons, and instant downloads appeal directly to the inner child that demands immediate rewards and hates waiting...
The bible tells us:
1 John 2:15
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The Bible contradicts what the world has taught you...
Now you understand the trickery of the devil. This is his realm and he teaches you things that are the antithesis of Godly values...
If we are constantly rewarded for behaving, doing as we are told, following the rules, getting the grades, being on time... we learn to love that recognition. Who remembers gym class and you got the best time, or did you finish first on that run around the track? What about trophies and ribbons and other awards? You got the highest score on the test. You were the quarterback in football, and you had to date the hot cheerleader... all learned behavior that got you recognition and soon you were addicted to the need to be the best... applause, awards and people wanted to be just like you.
With all of this programming you should be able to see how easy it was for the devil to get you to adhere to the Matrix idea of reindeer games... and no one wants to get picked on and be like Rudolph, you know... We all know the humiliation of being picked last, some of you may have been held back a grade, maybe your family wasn’t rich, or your dad was a drunk... Maybe you were smaller than the boys in your class or you didn’t develop as fast as the other girls did. We all know that humiliation of being last... being picked on... being bullied. So, we tried everything we could to be the best... But sometimes the odds were never stacked in your favor. Especially if you were one of those poor scumbags and you wore crappy clothes. You know what I mean... Our entire childhood was based on making it or not. Being cool or not.
Being taught who we are according to the powers that be ... the people hold the power and control over you. We never had the time to explore who we really are. We need to learn who we are in relation to GOD and our purpose.
Reclaiming your identity from societal expectations requires intentional time to reflect on your authentic self. Exploring your true identity in relation to God helps anchor your life’s purpose beyond the control or influence of worldly systems and external pressures.
1. Shift from Self-Sufficiency to Self-Discovery
Culture and worldly systems often define success by what you achieve, possess, or how well you conform to expectations. True spiritual self-awareness involves understanding your unique design, thoughts, and emotions, stripping away artificial labels.
Understand the Source: Personal development asks “How can I improve?” Spiritual development asks “Who am I in God’s eyes?”
2. Recognize Your True Identity
In scripture, God’s perspective on who you are provides a firm, unshakeable foundation. Instead of defining yourself by the rules of “the powers that be,” you can ground your identity in biblical truth:
You are uniquely made: God created you with specific intention.
You are loved and valued: Your worth comes from belonging to God, rather than your performance or standing in society.
3. Practical Ways to Explore Your Purpose
Finding out what you are living for begins when you take the time to foster a relationship with your Creator.
Spend Time in Reflection: Dedicate quiet time daily to prayer, meditation, and reading scripture. Resources to prioritize a daily relationship with God.
Understand God’s Calling: Aligning your purpose with God shifts your life’s goal from self-advancement to discovering the specific ways you can love and serve others.
Reflect on Your Wiring: Your life experiences and natural gifts are tools that God uses.
Finding your true self in relation to God often starts with shedding the labels placed on you by the “powers that be” and embracing your inherent worth as a child of God.
Here is how focusing on identity, freedom, and purpose can help bridge that gap:
Reclaiming Your True Identity
The world often defines us by status, lineage, or performance, but your spiritual identity is rooted in something much deeper.
Divine Heritage: You are a child of God, created in His image. This means your worth is not something you earn through human validation; it was already given at your creation.
Completeness in Spirit: As a child of God, you are already “complete”. You don’t have to “perform” to be worthy; instead, understanding who you are helps you make better choices naturally.
Spiritual Self-Awareness: Discovering who you are in relation to God is the first step toward a deeper relationship with Him.
The Importance of Safe Exploration
You mentioned that this journey is easier for a child when they are free to explore safely. Spiritual leaders and experts echo this idea of “holistic nurturing”.
Guiding, Not Controlling: Effective parenting and leadership focus on guiding hearts toward God rather than just controlling outward behavior.
Experiential Learning: Children learn faith and purpose by watching others and by being “active participants” in their own spiritual journeys.
Developing Gifts: Exploring different experiences safely allows individuals to identify the specific gifts and talents God has placed within them, which clarifies their unique mission.
Living with Purpose
Purpose is not a destination you find, but a way of living that connects your identity to your actions.
Anchoring in Trust: Purpose becomes clearer when your trust is anchored in God rather than human strategies or status.
Divine Preparation: Every season of life—even the challenging ones—is often a part of God’s process to strengthen and develop you for your ultimate calling.
A “Greater Story”: By understanding your divine potential, you realize you are a participant in a larger story that God is writing
Following your true path versus chasing after ego and pride. The flow of things in your life. Healing and coming into your true identity and the path of success.
Following your true path makes life easier by replacing exhausting external validation with natural intrinsic motivation. While ego and pride demand constant performance to maintain a specific image, pursuing your authentic purpose aligns your actions with your core values, creating a “flow” state that minimizes resistance and burnout.
Transitioning from ego-driven goals to your authentic path simplifies life in several key- ways:
1. You Eliminate “People-Pleasing” and Comparison
The Ego Trap: Chasing external benchmarks like titles, wealth, or status forces you to constantly measure yourself against others. It requires wearing a mask to fit societal expectations rather than being yourself.
The Authentic Shift: When your choices stem from your true path, your primary benchmark becomes personal progress and alignment. You no longer waste energy trying to impress people, making decision-making incredibly clear and stress-free.
2. Failure Becomes a Tool for Growth, not a Threat
The Ego Trap: Ego ties your self-worth directly to your outcomes. If you fail, it feels like a total personal defeat, which causes anxiety, defensiveness, and fear of trying new things.
The Authentic Shift: Purpose-driven living roots your worth in who you are and how you grow, not what you achieve. When a project stalls on your true path, you view it simply as valuable feedback rather than an ego-shattering blow.
3. It Unlocks Sustainable Intrinsic Motivation
The Ego Trap: Extrinsic motivators like praise or rewards are fleeting. The moment the external reward is removed, the push to keep going disappears.
The Authentic Shift: When you follow your true path, the joy of the activity itself is the reward. You won’t have to force yourself to work, study, or create because your natural passion fuels the journey.
4. Relationships Become Deeper and Healthier
The Ego Trap: Ego thrives on dominance, winning arguments, and taking all the credit. This creates emotional walls, damages trust, and prevents vulnerability.
The Authentic Shift: Releasing your ego allows you to practice humility, active listening, and empathy. You can prioritize connection over being “right,” which drastically reduces interpersonal drama and stress
In order to learn to be who we are, we need to go back to the child within and remember the following:
Things you love to do
Things you are good at
Things people were jealous of and were mean to you so you would stop and dim your light...
What did you want to be?
Did people make fun of your dreams? Did they tell you that you cannot be this or that. Did they tell you that you were too stupid, too little, too fat, too poor?
Were people jealous, and they demeaned and even bullied you into stopping. People who have an attachment of jealousy will do that to you… I have learned their tactics well. They start by pretending to be your friend…Passive aggressive comments soon turn to mor aggressive things. I shut them down the minute it begins to escalate now. Because they are the ones that will stab you in the back all of a sudden… they would even steal your partner just to spite you. Did you learn to dull your shine and along with it your joy and excitement all to please others?
There are people who have a dynamic of seeing someone do well at something and being jealous or envious of that skill and then trying to stop or sabotage. Many times, they could also develop that skill if they only put in some effort. They seem to not want to do the work. They just want the reward.
You are describing a deeply frustrating but very common behavioral dynamic. Psychologists often link this to a mix of entitlement, low self-esteem, and a scarcity mindset. Instead of being inspired by someone’s success, these individuals view it as a threat.
The Psychology Behind the Behavior
The “Shortcuts” Trap: They want the admiration, status, or success (Reward) that comes with a skill, but they are unwilling to invest the required time, practice, and failure AND Effort.
Mirroring Insecurity: Seeing someone else master a skill highlights their own stagnation. Sabotaging you is a defense mechanism; if they can tear you down, they don’t have to face their own lack of initiative.
Zero-Sum Thinking: They operate under the belief that your success somehow diminishes theirs, rather than recognizing that skills and achievements are not limited resources.
How to Handle the Situation
Keep Your Distance: If possible, limit the personal information you share with them. Keep conversations surface-level so they have less ammunition to use for interference.
Document Everything: If this is happening in a workplace or professional environment, keep a paper trail of your progress, project timelines, and communications. This protects your work from being quietly undermined.
Let Your Results Speak: Do not get dragged into arguments or try to justify your skills. Consistently producing high-quality results makes their attempts to sabotage or discredit you much more obvious to others.
Set Firm Boundaries: Clearly state what is and is not acceptable. For instance, if they offer unconstructive criticism or try to meddle in your projects, a polite but firm “I have this handled, thank you” shuts down their involvement.
Rediscovering those childhood passions is a beautiful way to reconnect with your authentic self. The activities that came effortlessly to you—the ones that sparked joy and made others take notice—are rarely just pastimes; they are clues to your core strengths and natural genius.
To help you translate that nostalgic reflection into action, here is a quick way to audit and reactivate those gifts:
Brainstorm Your “Flow” State: Write down 3-5 specific activities from your youth where you lost track of time. Whether it was drawing, building things, organizing, performing, or problem-solving, these highlight your innate talents.
What puts you in your flow state?
A flow state is a mental condition of complete immersion and deep focus on a task. Also known as being “in the zone,” it is a highly productive state where time seems to fly; distractions vanish, and you perform at your peak with effortless control. I get this way when I write...
(*Side note* I might add that when we are trying to fulfill our own desires for career and money we do not necessarily find a flow state… but when you are in your purpose… you will see the difference.)
Identify the Envy: Think about what your peers were jealous of. That specific skill (e.g., your ability to memorize facts, your fearlessness on stage, your knack for creative writing) points directly to a high-value strength.
Bridge the Gap: You don’t have to start from scratch. Look for modern, adult iterations of those childhood hobbies. If you loved sketching, try a local figure drawing class; if you loved assembling complex things, explore a MakerSpace or DIY electronics.
Reframing these early passions as lifelong gifts allows you to weave those energizing talents back into your current life and work.
Luke 17: 20-23
20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
We are not to put our faith in mankind our faith belongs with the LORD
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The way of this world is not the way of GOD.
The burdens, sins of mankind and the programming are huge weights upon our shoulders. We were never meant to carry all of that.
This is why Jesus said in
Matthew 11: 25-30
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Because HE is the way the truth and the life and HIS truth is peace, love and a soul set free of this worlds burden… this is why HE says:
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Please, turn to GOD. Go within… The Kingdom of Heaven, GOD’s kingdom, is within.
Much love to you all, always…