People want to label you. We live in a world of labels. Labels are used to provide identity and explain purpose. Labels can be good but they can also be bad. Labels can help but they can also hinder. Labels can be well deserved or they can be grievous. They can paint you with limitations or paint you with possibilities. They can be flattering or they can also be abusive. Some labels lift up and others take down. The point is this, the world's labels are not you nor are they prophetic pictures of your future. When unfairly applied, toss them away.
It's common when sitting next to a stranger on a flight that they will ask what you do for a living. People do this because they connect what you do with who you are. The truth is, what you do is not who you are. Regardless, if you tell them you repair cars, for example, then there is a label for that called a car mechanic. Now that they know what you do they determine your income, what neighborhood you live in, where your children attend school, and what kind of car you drive. Tell this same person that you are a doctor and the label changes. A plumber and the label changes again. A preacher and the label changes yet again. This is part of human nature. People want to label you. The problem with labels is they can act as barriers to who you really are.
As a preacher, people want to label me. They ask my title, religious affiliation, church name, religious qualifications, number of people in my church, denomination name, and Bible school I graduated. From these questions, they form an opinion of me. Once I was an ordained pastor with a well-known denomination. One day we moved on and started an independent church. Independent churches are free from old traditional labels of what church is all about. I was no longer hindered by the denominational label and the world opened up. In my case, the denominational label was a hindrance. I ignored it.
I attended a conference in Sweden with my wife. After the service, we were sitting at a table fellowshiping with some new friends. This man approached the table saying he was called by God to preach in America. He asked me how many people were in my church, assuming we had a large congregation. We told him we just opened the church and only had a few attending. I never saw this man again.
You are not a label. Your occupation is not you. Ignore other people's labels. As already mentioned, labels are other people's image of you. They don't tell you who you are or where you are going. Draw your identity and purpose from God. Let the Holy Spirit lead you and avoid the hindrances of the world's labels.
© Your partner,
Apostle Jonas Clark
www.jonasclark.com
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