When Labels Lie
The Weight of a Word
“Once you label me, you negate me.” Søren Kierkegaard
Labels are shortcuts that shrink souls.
They simplify what God made sacredly complex.
They categorize what Heaven calls beloved.
We live in a culture quick to define and dismiss. Cancel Culture is only the latest version of an old deception — the belief that naming someone by their failure or difference somehow justifies withholding love.
But labels have never healed a heart; love has.
The Subtle Self-Labeling
It’s not just what we call others; it’s what we call ourselves.
Failure. Unworthy. Not enough.
Those words may feel factual, but they’re not faithful.
God never introduced you to yourself that way.
He calls you chosen, redeemed, beloved.
To label yourself by your past is to deny His promise about your future.
God’s View of You
God has always been more interested in your being than your branding.
When others saw a prostitute, Jesus saw devotion.
When others saw a tax collector, He saw a disciple.
When others saw a sinner, He saw a son.
He doesn’t label to limit; He names to liberate.
And every name He gives begins in love.
The Call to Love Instead of Label
Paul wrote, “Love does not dishonor others… it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:5–7).
Love doesn’t cancel; it covers. It sees the image of God even beneath the rough edges.
Honor restores what labels erase.
When you choose to see others as God sees them, you become part of their healing — not their negation.
Reflection
Where have you accepted labels that contradict who God says you are?
Who around you needs to be reminded that they are more than what they’ve been called?
What would change if your first instinct was not to define, but to dignify?
Prayer