Full of Labels

Let’s face it, we all label each other. Perhaps we do it to enable recall, like names, or mutual connections. Or maybe we label others to solidify or publicize our relationship with them. But more often than not, we do it for more personal reasons. Labeling others to define where we stand on an issue or how we feel about another’s lifestyle can be a convenient way to detract attention from our own shortcomings. It is always easier to point out someone else’s flaws than deal with the mess we’ve made in our own lives. 

Max Lucado has written a children’s book titled You are Special.  It’s a wonderful story about the lives of Wemmicks, small wooden people who fill their days labeling each other with stickers. The pretty, bright Wemmicks are covered in gold stars while the blemished, cracked ones receive only gray dots. There is one Wemmick, Lucia, who has no stickers at all. The stickers do not stay on her because she chooses not to believe the labels associated with them. It’s a lovely reminder that God alone is allowed to label each of us, and he always chooses to call us His beloved.

We all have blemishes, sins and faults that others can see. We also have internal struggles that are hidden from the world, but always seen by our Creator and Maker.  We can become consumed with the obviousness of these sins and what others think of us, rather than what we know to be true. It’s so very easy to get caught up in perceptions, but this can also be very dangerous. While we may seek to achieve a certain social status or popularity, we can lose a piece of who we are in the process. Before we realize it, those around us befriend the idea of who we portray ourselves to be, rather than the creation that God had in mind before we were born.  We live in a world that values outward appearance and likability, dismissing morality and purity in favor of conformation.  

Two verses come to mind as I type this. First, Matthew 7:1-2 which tells us “Judge not, that you be not judged; for with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”  That’s pretty self-explanatory. When we choose to place labels on others, we are judging them, often without cause, but always without authority. The second is from Romans 12:1-2 reading “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Both these verses serve as poignant reminders that we are called as His to be free from condemnation and conformity.  Our human labels only serve to pigeonhole and punish, but God’s labels us as His in 1 Peter 2:9.  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. “ Wow, what wonderful affirmations for all of us who call Him our God and Savior.

Reflecting on Max’s book, I love Lucia because she does not allow what others think about her to diminish her value or self worth.  She walks through her days blissfully unburdened when peers give her stars or dots. I covet her ability to let go of anything said about her that comes from anyone other than the one who made her. What freedom must come in that!

What labels have you have placed on others today? Which of those did you allow others to choose for you? What label would you choose for yourself? I struggle with what others believe about me, and it often brings me great pain. But I can always remind myself of the truth God has written about me on His heart and that should be more than enough to sustain me until He sends his Son to bring me home.