Labels

A couple of weeks ago I joined the local YMCA. I thought it was weird that they made you dress up like one of the Village People and perform YMCA in order to join, but they assured me it would be well worth it. One of the things I was excited about was that there’s a group that plays basketball a few times a week there. I love basketball and don’t get to play very much, so I was dang pumped to start playing again. So after signing up I went to buy some new basketball shoes.

I got to the store and walked down the aisle to see what they had. My eyes automatically went to a few certain pairs of shoes and passed over others, and it wasn’t so much because of the color or design, it was because of the logo printed on the shoe. There were certain shoes I began to consider buying and others that I automatically skipped over because they were not a certain brand. And I don’t just do this with shoes. Whether I’m grocery shopping (usually for chips and salsa), buying a car, a watch, a pack of gum, you name it and I make my decision largely based on the label.

I guess this is partly because with some of these things there’s a sense of status associated with certain brands (I’d like to say I’m so sanctified I don’t think about things like that, but I thought I’d choose honesty instead), but I think the other reason I look at the label is because I trust certain brands and not others. Some are worth my time and consideration and others are cheap and crappy so I don’t even want to think about getting them.

There’s one other thing where I look at labels that I didn’t mention yet; people. I don’t see someone made in the image of God who God desires to know when I walk through a store, drive down the street, or play basketball at the Y. I see a lawyer, a slut, an athlete, jerks, lazy people, nice people, and well-dressed people. Some are worth my time and consideration and others are cheap and crappy so I don’t even want to think about giving them my time.

Jesus saw people, not labels. I want to be like Jesus.