Labels

Tanisha. Julie. Stephanie. Gloria. Lisa. Lyndsey. Wendy. Frank. Tom. Branden. Barbara. Jay. Logan. Denise. Jaden. Melissa. Ashley. Tammy. Jason. Cheryl. Dan. Jerrid. 

Everyone named above is either a family member or a friend. Each is unique. Some of them have brown skin…some have white skin…one has red hair….one is a Type I diabetic.. Two of them are in recovery from addictions…one is a doctor and one a teacher….one is a very good friend with graying curly hair…one is adopted…one is Chinese…one has passed away…two are pastors (one female, one male)…one is a single mom…two are “gluten free”….one is very blond…one is a widow….one is a young married mother of two…one is married and has three boys and a daughter…..one is Korean AND adopted….one is gay…

If I were to introduce you to either of these dear people I would say “please meet Tanisha”. If I were talking about her in a conversation with you I would refer to her as Tanisha, one of my very best friends.  I could tell you what a wonderful job she is doing parenting a child all by herself; she is a single mom. Does her skin color matter? No.

What about Frank? Frank is a great guy we met this past summer when he came to our church to speak about global missions work within our denomination. He spent a Saturday night in our home. When I tell you about Frank and the work he’s doing for our Lord, is it important that you know his ethnicity? Not to me it doesn’t.

When I brag about Melissa or introduce her to you….do you NEED to know she’s a Type I diabetic? No, not really, not unless you’re close enough in our circle to watch for warning signs if her numbers go wonky. Then it matters….

If I’m talking about my two good guy friends who are part of my Celebrate Recovery Forever Family do I need to tell you one is tall, one is shorter in stature? Or divulge to you their addictions? No.

Branden is a cousin. Is he brown or white? You can guess. Jaden is a great niece. Is she the doctor in our family or the adopted gal? Does it matter when I’m bragging about them? Only if their achievements and how they came into our family is part of the story.

Labels. I don’t care how our society has been quick to “label” people. White, Brown. Black. Skinny, Fat. Tall. Short. Homophobic. Xenophobic. Radical. Liberal. Conservative. Leftist. Deplorable. Dem. MAGA. Republican. Gay. Bi. Straight. Trans. Fluid. Furrie. 

I’m finding myself in a place of self reflection today, asking myself how our culture got to this place? It seems that suddenly some labels offend us while others do not. I guess a simple way for me to justify the need for a label is those found on our food products. For some people, it’s crucial to their health to know if something contains gluten or too much sugar. 

When it comes to skin color, I guess it’s important to differentiate skin color, hair style, color of eyes, height, etc.only  if we’re describing someone to a police officer. In everyday conversations…um, I don’t think it’s necessary. Merely my humble opinion and my personal decision to regard my family and friends as fellow human beings, living in communities…much like crayons sharing the space in their box. 

For me, the most used word lately in any news story is the term “racist”. I hold a lot of disdain for this word. Aren’t we ONE human race? Did I miss something in science back in junior high school or Sunday School? Didn’t God create ONE mankind and from the stroke of His creative artbrush make us all  different shades of skin tone? Some light…some dark….some very dark…and some brown…some who sunburn easily and others who take on beautiful tans during summer months. 

I always chuckle when I’m filling out a form that asks gender. We’ve gone from two to several choices now. Then there’s the boxes to check if you are caucasion, hispanic, black, or other.  So, under “Other” I have begun checking that box and writing in Child of God.Call me radical if you want. If society wants everyone to be labeled,  I’m choosing  what is MY truth. I guess doing so may cause me to earn another “label”–rebellious one or radical.  It’s okay…I’m sticking with Child of God. I like the sound of that much better than anything other people might throw on me in the hope that it sticks.