The labels we give

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,
for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:26-29 (NIVUK)

I listened to a podcast recently where a National Geographic war photographer was interviewed. It was inspiring and insightful (I love photography), but also frighteningly real. The interviewee explained why she stopped being a photo journalist (even after winning various awards and prizes for her work) and it hit closer to home than I would have liked. She explained how she realised that her work was not a way to stop wars from happening, but rather a cog in the ever-grinding war machine.
 
When she started off as a photo journalist, she naively thought that shining a light on the atrocities of war would influence people to stop the violence. However, she found that the media (even with the best of intentions) became a tool to justify the violence rather than stopping it. All because of the labels we give the people in the pictures.
 
Here's how it works: If we can label a person, we can decide whether what we see them experiencing is “good” or “bad”; whether the agony or joy a picture captures is justified or not.
 
Labelling people (intentionally or subconsciously) also distances us from them. If someone’s label puts them in a group outside of my own, I might fall into the “us vs. them” mentality.
 
I don’t think that is how God intends for us to live our lives. Especially not as members in the body of Christ. Labels flew out the window as our identity as children of God became cemented through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.
 
So, here’s a question to ponder: How would my actions be different if I intentionally thought of every person I see as a child loved by God and nothing else?
 
A prayer - Father, you have loved me when I was unlovable. Help me love everyone I meet in the same way, regardless of my own prejudice and opinions. Amen.
 
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash