The Sting of the Label
Just last week I went to put on a pair of shorts that I had ordered from Amazon. I put one leg in and looked down to see XL in large letters on the tag. My first inclination was that it had been mislabeled, so I looked at the second pair I had bought, and sure enough this company had decided that size X* was extra large. I don’t want to get into the ins and outs of size discrepancies here, but I had never seen XL on any of my clothes until this moment and it stung.
And going through my day, wearing those XL shorts I felt the weight of the label. I was self-conscious. I questioned what I was eating, I felt the need to exercise more. I hadn’t grown in size, my habits hadn’t changed, but that XL staring up at me changed my thinking, and the ways I felt about myself.
How often do we let arbitrary labels tell us how to feel? How often do I let the tags on my clothing inform my feelings about my own health? And how often is it wrong?
My running watch also likes to give me a label: unproductive, maintaining, productive… I don’t even know what the one higher than productive would be because I’ve never seen it. Seriously, my watch told me for the first four months I had it that every workout I did was unproductive. And it drove me crazy. I literally ran in the door to tell my husband that I was finally “productive” the other day.
But what does the watch actually know? And how dare it say a workout that I completed was unproductive?
I’d be willing to bet these labels are wrong a lot. I hadn’t suddenly gone up from a Medium to an XL, and I hadn’t gone from healthy to unhealthy in a matter of seconds. I hadn’t suddenly gotten more productive over three miles that day. Some other entity had just labeled me as bigger, as large, as unhealthy, as unproductive. And I let them. I let it get in my head and mess with my day.
We need to reject the labels the world insists on placing on us and accept only the labels God places on us; His labels are not burdensome or hurtful, they are loving and light:
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5
“But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.” 1 Corinthians 6:17
“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” Romans 6:6
"So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
“‘I knew you before I formed you in your mothers womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations…’” Jeremiah 1:5
“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27
“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.” 1 Peter 2:9
Don’t these labels sound so much better? Don’t these labels empower? Don’t they make us want to do and be and love more?
Children of God.
Adopted into His family.
One in Spirit with Him.
No longer slaves to sin.
Made in His image.
Set apart, His prophet to the nations.
A part of Christ’s body.
A chosen people.
A holy nation.
God’s very own possession.
And we are these things no matter our size or level of health, simply because God created us and loved us. Nothing we do or did or will do can change them. These labels are always for our good and our encouragement.
And these labels are the only ones that should matter. We won’t see them on our clothing or our smart watches, but we will see their effects on our hearts. And the only way we’ll know them is by reading them, repeating them to ourselves, and letting them sink deep into our souls. So read them, write them on your hearts, and feel them sinking deep into your soul.
*X: The size has been removed from the original text in order to not trigger anyone reading this with an eating disorder or disordered eating habits. We believe that size is not indicative of worth or health here at Body Bloved.
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Ondi is a former high school English teacher, and current stay at home Mom. She is married to an amazing husband, whom she met running track and cross country in college. She has two girls, and one boy under 9 years old. She is currently working on abiding in Christ, and writing on her blog whatever comes from that time. Ondi enjoys running, coffee, reading, writing, and all the desserts.
