Labels

Our society is obsessed with labels. We put them on everything – food, clothing, vehicles, and chemicals. Labels on things like food are a pretty good idea, especially if you have food allergies or dietary restrictions. But labels are useful only when two conditions are met – they must be accurate and they must be universally understandable.

Consider the danger if a food manufacturer left off a key ingredient for a breakfast bar – say peanuts – and someone bought the product assuming it was nut free and gave it to their child who had a nut allergy.

We put a lot of trust in labels, and we frequently make decisions based on what we understand a label to mean. Sometimes these decisions are literally life or death decisions.

The practice of labeling things has also extended to people. Individuals or groups of people are often referred to by a “label”. This could be based on what country they are from (American, German), the colour of their skin (white, black), their sexual orientation (gay, straight), their age (toddler, teenager), their religion (Catholic, Muslim), or any of a number of categories we try to pigeonhole people. But as soon as we place a label on someone, we run the danger of that label being inaccurate and / or not universally understood.

The whole issue of stereotyping comes into play here – we make a lot of assumptions about someone as soon as we slap a label on them. And in my experience, it seems to be hard-wired into my brain to put labels on people as soon as I can. When I’m introduced to someone and learn something definitive about them – such as their occupation – I start referring to them in my mind by that attribute (Bob the accountant). And then I start making assumptions about them based on that attribute (Bob probably drives a Honda, makes secure investments, and pays off his credit card every month). I assume I know a lot about a person based on very little personal information, and I might not make an effort to get to know them better and find out if my label is correct or not. In some cases, learning just a little bit about someone might cause me to avoid future contact with them or even break off a friendship.

A few years ago I met someone at a card game, and when we decided to order pizza he mentioned he couldn’t have bacon or ham. I immediately labeled him as being Jewish because of his refusal to eat pork. He looked a bit Jewish and his family was important to him, so it seemed like a good assumption to make. A few months and several card games later, I discovered he wasn’t Jewish but actually Muslim. My label was wrong and it led me to make certain assumptions about him without taking the effort to learn more about him. And learning he was Muslim broke a few assumptions I had always had about what a Muslim looked like, what they wear, how they act.

Labeling people based on their religion is quite common, and has been going on for a long time. Throughout history there are far too many examples of wars and even genocide triggered by “religion”. Some of these, like the “crusades”, took place many years ago. But others like the genocide in Bosnia or Rwanda happened very recently. What is common about these events is that “labels” were used to create an “us” versus “them” scenario and de-humanize the “enemy”. It’s somehow more palatable for us to kill an enemy who is faceless and nameless. When we use the label, we forget that our enemy is a person just like us, with families, jobs, hopes, dreams – and created in the image of God.

Many people feel the world would be a much better place without religion. I think what they really mean is that the world would be a better place if we stopped labeling people and stereotyping. The acts of aggression and wars that were done in the name of religion had nothing to do with the true values espoused by those religions – they simply leveraged the use of religious labels and stereotyping to convince people their cause was noble and just.

I signed up on Facebook a while ago, and when completing my profile I considered what to put for “religious views”. I could have put “Christian”, or “Protestant”, or “Evangelical”, or a number of other possible religious labels. If you have checked out my FB profile, you will already know that what I put down was “too complicated for one sentence”. I did this deliberately to avoid using a typical religious label. I want people to engage me in a conversation about my religious views. I don’t want them to read a label and make a bunch of assumptions about what I believe, how I act, or what I value. In turn, I try to avoid the trap of making assumptions about people who might use one of those labels. Simply telling me you are a Christian isn’t the end of that conversation, but the beginning. I want to know more.

I have met several people who want no part of organized religion. They consider themselves to be spiritual, perhaps even call themselves Christians, but they will never belong to a church. This is unfortunate because they are making a lot of assumptions about a label. They view “religion” or “churches” as faceless organizations with certain attributes that they don’t like. But every church I have ever been involved with is not a stereotypical church. Every single one of them has been made up of people – ordinary people like you and me. Imperfect, but forgiven. Striving to do what they believe is right, and often getting it wrong. But they are people worth the time to get to know.

My challenge for you is to make sure you go beyond the labels our society puts on people. Don’t assume you know everything about someone because you know something about them. Think about the people Jesus picked to be His disciples and closest friends – fishermen, labourers, tax collectors, and prostitutes. Jesus didn’t care what label society had placed on these people. He didn’t care what others thought about who He should be hanging around. He went beyond those labels and looked into the hearts of those around Him.

Consider this somewhat cryptic exchange between Jesus and Peter as recorded in Mark 8:27 to 30.

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Society had labeled Jesus as being John the Baptist, Elijah, or a prophet. But since Peter had spent time with Him, he knew Jesus was the Christ or Messiah (the Anointed One). Modern society has similar labels for Jesus – one of the prophets, a good role model, a mythical person. Our challenge as believers is to help people get beyond those labels and discover who Jesus really is.

Questions and Comments?

1. Have you ever fallen into the trap of making assumptions about someone based on a label and later found out you were wrong?
2. Do you think the label “Christian” is understood well enough to be accurate description of who you are and what you believe?

Jac