Fearless Faith

Labels infuse our culture, transforming us in ways we do not fully understand. Commercial labels are the easiest to process and dismiss. We see them as identifiers, product enhancers, and information centers about the content, sale and receipt of materials and goods. Other labels become ones of convenience that spell out our personal choices, spending habits, or political leanings. At its best, the right label on the right product in an appropriate moment can be difficult to beat. Not so with people.

The human labels we use, and too often abuse, are the kind that leave little room for the humanity within us to shine. Instead of insisting on derogatory labels, what would it be like to create a few positive ones of our own? Jesus colored outside the lines at nearly every encounter with others, whether he knew the persons or not. If a label was used in the telling, it was mostly because it was helpful for the construction, context, and understanding of the parables he shared. Speaking and communicating in the vernacular of the surrounding culture was important. At their worst, labels are used to degrade and dehumanize. What positive differences could result if we set aside the worst caricatures of one another and allowed the whole person to stand before us?

As a child, it was always a pleasure and privilege to help emboss and affix plastic adhesive-backed labels to a variety of things; tool boxes, personal items (baseball bats, lunch boxes), boxes of old office records, unused toys and outdated gadgets. But, making the label itself was always the highlight, trying to get it right the first time in to avoid a ribbing from my siblings. And then there was the cost element and my parent’s constant reminder not to waste the expensive plastic tape. Now it is possible to print adhesive labels of almost any design, style, or font, all with the help of computer templates and the ‘Print’ key. The variety of uses then were innocuous and made us feel right with the times.

Too bad we cannot return to such simplicity. The labels we prefer to use nowadays have much more to do with classifying people to our exacting specifications. If they are deemed substandard, then it is easier to knock them down a bit than it is to lift them up. It is hard work at times to treat every person with dignity, especially when they are so often different that the rest of us. It begs the question of who is truly different. The answer depends on which side of the river bank you are sitting in the moment … the left, the right, a small island in the center?

The “What would Jesus do?” phrase has always seemed a bit trite, but perhaps it is more appropriate these days than ever before. It calls us to accountability for how we look and act, something that is not always easy to face. Could we start without name calling, bullying, and labeling others as misfits and miscreants? To see the whole person can be difficult and energy-consuming. To know the true person, however, is an experience one never forgets. Are we up to the task? Be careful how you answer. It is no flippant question.