Flip the Label Script

“You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world…“  Matthew 5:13-14

Tell Others Who They Truly Are

Once upon a time, I was a ‘chunkster’. Chubby. That’s how the kids let me know I was fat. Well-meaning aunts and uncles loved to pinch my cheeks and discuss my ‘baby fat’ as if I couldn’t hear them. It was just one more reminder that I didn’t measure up. I was somehow deficient. Social media didn’t invent body shaming. Even now, at age 70, I still wrestle with a distorted body image.

In Mark chapter 1, Jesus heals a man with leprosy. The culture labeled him a “leper,” but that wasn’t his true identity. He was a man—a child of God—fighting a disease that sought to define him. But his illness wasn’t who he was. Just like me, just like you. We are not our bodies. We are not the labels others assign to us.

That’s why my red kite matters to me. It reminds me that Jesus came to elevate others. He spoke directly to those crushed by society’s power brokers. In the opening lines of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preaches the Beatitudes—elevating proclamations that rename us: no longer overlooked, but heirs of the Kingdom. He calls us salt. He calls us light. He calls us his friends. He invites us into his family: sister, brother, mother.

 What is your true identity?

Just like the words we speak over ourselves, the words we speak over others carry power. They can shape someone’s sense of self, for better or worse.

Our culture serves up labels:
Democrat. Republican.
Gay. Straight. Trans.
Left. Right.
Woke. MAGA.
Pro-life. Pro-choice.
Conservative. Progressive.
Red. Blue.
Black. White.

We’re even told to choose our pronouns and craft our own identities.

But step back. What do all these labels have in common?

They divide.
They isolate.
They can dehumanize.

In John 10:10, Jesus tells us that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. That’s the impact of every false identity. All lies from the pit of hell. (I smell smoke.)

“Chubby.” “Doughboy.” “Fatty.” Those labels were meant to wound. But some labels we use today are just as harmful, even if that’s not our intention. We no longer say “leper,” but we still say “homeless,” “addict,” or “felon.” These shorthand identities reduce someone’s entire story to a single struggle.

We can do better.

Let’s speak life. Let’s use labels the way God does—words like:
Father. Mother.
Brother. Sister,
Son, Daughter
Uncle. Neighbor.
Friend. Beloved.
Redeemed. Adopted.
Guest. Image-bearer.

Let’s flip the label script, and elevate one another.

Run the play. Live out of your true identity—and tell others who God says they are.

“True identity can only be known by truth telling. Truth telling moves us from what is real to what is true. This is important because what is real to me isn’t always true, but what is true is always real.”

Jamie Winship. Living Fearless

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

What labels—spoken or unspoken—have tried to define you?

How does Jesus speak a more authentic identity over your life?

Who in your life needs to be reminded of their true identity?