Labels Lie
I saw an awesome movie this weekend with my kids. It’s called “Wreck it Ralph.” It’s about a video game character labeled a “bad” guy (I could instantly relate). He’s stuck in a world where every day is the same old thing. Game after game, Ralph is asked to break out the windows of an apartment building, just so the “good” guy, Felix Jr, can come around behind him and fix everything with one tap from his magical hammer. In this clip below, which I find hysterical because of how similar it is to most meetings I attend, Ralph is really struggling to accept the label that so many of his “bad” brothers have reluctantly come to live with…. watch it now.
As you can see, good ole Ralph is in a little bit of quandary. As much as he tries to convince his brethren, he can’t seem to break away from the label he’s been given. Secondly, the underlying desire to be something that he is not is pushing him to make some inevitably bad decisions.
I won’t spoil the movie for you, but I will say that near the end of the film Ralph realizes the power behind embracing who he really is….. The freedom that Ralph finds by accepting his differences, allows him to break the chains of the label that held him back for so long.
There are two key lessons to take away from this movie. They can be perceived to be contradictory, but there not. They work together well to provide a friction that sparks motivation, bolsters self-esteem and will surely provide purpose to your life. Here they are.
Number 1 – There is freedom and power in accepting who you are!
Number 2 – The labels that others may give you are not the labels God has given you.
I relate to Ralph in this movie in a big way. I was labeled for years and had no clue how to drop it. I struggled to overcome these labels on my own, constantly trying to be everything I thought the world wanted me to be, all the while ignoring the specific God given gifts I possess. The further I ran away from my true self, the heavier the labels felt and the darker my life got.
It wasn’t until I began to see myself the way God saw me that the labels began to drop. These labels like loser, weak, liar, cheater, thief and junkie… hurt. They hurt me bad. But God never saw me as any of those things.
The label you may be living under today may not be like mine. Maybe for you it’s divorced or depressed, fat or a failure, annoying or a bully, nerdy or gothic. I don’t know what label some fool has slapped on you, but I’m here to tell you that label is a liar. You are NOT what others say you are… What you are is what God says you are.
When you cling to that, you can begin to find the freedom that comes along with it. The freedom of accepting yourself for exactly who God created you to be….A winner, an overcomer, chosen, loved, cherished, forgiven, special, perfect and complete. God makes no mistakes; He makes no junk!. He doesn’t label you as anything other than HIS. So when you get to feeling like ole Ralph did and life seems to be ganging up on you, labeling you and trying to box you in. Check out some of these verses. Break loose of those labels and find freedom!
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Hope is Alive!