Today is my last day as Vice President of Operations at American National Bank & Trust. I thought it was fitting to write a blog post about how a job is part of a man’s identity since I will be losing that identity. More often than not, a man’s job defines his worth to himself and to the world. Frequently a man’s job is his pride. Work gives meaning to men’s lives.

In the book “Man Enough”, author Frank Pittman says “Work keeps us busy.  It gives us structure, it defines us as functioning, contributing, worthwhile citizens.  It makes us part of the team, a community of fellow workers—even if we do our work in isolation.  If we feel work bringing us closer to our fellow workers or to the human community, we can feel pride and joy in our work, feel mutual emulation with all other workers, and feel ourselves the equal to any man.”

The bank was more than just a place to go to work, it was so much more. It was a family. It was the place that I developed a relationship with a best friend that is like a brother to me. It is the place that I gained 25 pounds with all the birthday lunches, cook outs and just because food. It was the place that I was called Klint, Klinton, Klinto, KO, KO Cubed, Clarence, Mr. Klint, Klinty, and my personal favorite, Stupid. It was a place that encouraged me to give back to my community by joining the Optimist Club, serving on boards, and serving on boards. It was the place that I had fun and laughed until my stomach hurt. It was the place that I was given the opportunity to learn to cook under Chef Dwight. It was the place that gave me opportunities to succeed. The bank is a part of my DNA.

I would like to say I am not defined by what my title at work is, what line of business I’m in, or how successful I am, but of course these things shape me. To say they don’t is a bit dishonest. My career is coming to an end today and this past month has been hard on me. It has been hard on my self-esteem, my self-worth, my relationships with other, my joy, and just about every other aspect of my life. I know in my mind that  if I rely on my job role or even relational roles to define me, I may ignore deeper truth of who I am in God. I must constantly remind myself of the fact that God has called me to something else, and being in His will is more important than the work that I was doing previously.

I am no longer Vice President of Operations at American National Bank & Trust, but I’m now a missionary in Uganda and my identity will be in Christ.

Galations 2:20, “ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

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