Labels Stick

There are a few vehicles in our neighborhood with stickers that say ‘hoonagan’ – I wasn’t familiar with the term, so I looked it up and found that it means reckless driver. Now, I can’t understand why anyone would want to label themselves as a reckless driver.

The labels we and others put on ourselves matter. What we believe about ourselves matters. Labels stick – pun intended – and can be harmful. False identity leads to insecurity.

Our identity is only found in who God says we are, not people or even ourselves.

When a lawyer asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment, He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-38, ESV, emphasis added).

Before we can love others healthily, we must love God and ourselves. Yes, I said to love ourselves. Still, that doesn’t mean we should be vain, but since we are made in the image of God, we should respect ourselves and our bodies in a way that honors Him. Speaking poorly about ourselves isn’t helpful. When we catch ourselves, we can pray that God help us take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

This is also useful in other situations, such as when we find ourselves getting offended easily or letting our emotions take control of and spoil our day. Yes, our feelings are important, but we shouldn’t let them control our lives and keep us from the peace that Jesus offers every day. We can’t control what others say or do, but we can control how we react.

Complete transparency: I am learning to ask God for help in controlling my emotions. I find that I sometimes wear my feelings on my sleeve, especially when I am offended, which is another area of contention I am working on. When this happens, I am only focused on myself – instead of Jesus and others.

We need to be intentional about developing our character and behavior with God’s help. I often ask God to reveal any areas I need to work on, so I can make more room for the Holy Spirit in my heart and be more like Jesus – the path for loving others well. A simple prayer each morning, before my day starts, asking God to help me be kind, humble, and not easily offended, has been invaluable. The only person we are responsible for fixing is ourselves, and that can only be accomplished through daily prayer and discipline, with God’s help.

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less”. C.S. Lewis

The verse Paul wrote in Romans 7:15 comes to mind when I find myself in the same offensive mindset. “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

Can anyone else relate?

I pray consistently, humbly asking God to help me become who He created me to be – more like Jesus and less like me. But what matters is that I know who I am in Christ, and most importantly, whose I am. This is what drives my persistence in pursuing the path of righteousness.  

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Ps. 139:13-14, emphasis added).

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19, emphasis added).