By Rae Lynn DeAngelis
Do you have a pet peeve, something that irritates you or gets on your very last nerve?
I must admit; I have a few. Clutter is one. Commercials are another. But the thing that I despise most, that which drives me absolutely insane, is something that perhaps you haven’t given much thought or attention to—tags on clothing.
Tags have grown to be such a pet peeve of mine that the first thing I do when I purchase new clothing is to cut them out. Size, designer label, care instructions, and the like—I cut out every one of them.
Why?
It’s not just the fact that labels can be scratchy and irritate the skin on the back of my neck. And it’s not just the aggravation I experience when tags flip up and hang outside my shirt. What I hate most about tags and labels are the way they make me feel on the inside, like my character is somehow flawed just because of what the label says.
It’s not just clothing labels that have become my pet peeve. The labels that society places on people greatly frustrate me too: fat, thin, tall, short, rich, poor, smart, dumb, black, white… you name it; our society has a label for it.
Sadly, some labels follow us all the way through life. We allow them to define us, and in some cases, they become self-fulfilling prophecies. We don’t just believe what society says; we act upon it too.
The children’s book by Max Lucado, You Are Special, holds a profound truth about humanity. We are special, and our value and worth has nothing to do with what society says. Our true value, worth, and identity can only be defined by the One who made us—God.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).
When we truly believe what God says about us versus what man says, the labels no longer stick.
My favorite line in the story of Punchinello (a boy who’s feeling downtrodden by the ugly dot stickers given to him by the other Wemmicks) is when Eli the Woodcarver tells him, “The stickers only stick if they matter to you.”
You and I are not the sum of the tag on our shirt, the number on a scale, or the careless comments of ill-informed peers.
You and I are daughters of the King, made in His image, and we are precious in His sight.
Like tags on a brand new shirt, remove the label and focus on the identity God has given you.
Are you unsure of who you are in Christ?
Perhaps this will help. Click here!
