Have you even noticed that people on facebook that get the most comments are usually people who are diving us through labels? It happens all the time and the sad part is that people feel the need to have to comment and say their 2 cents. I believe if we all quit even acknowledging them by commenting we may find that kind of drama to slow down. We are the ones that keep it going.
As you watch the media or people on facebook, have you noticed that people love to label people? Sometimes I wonder if its human nature to do so but with our media going as strong as they are and when ratings matters they have found that by dividing us is what creates ratings. If they can keep us all thinking we are enemies of each other then they will keep making that money as their ratings go through that roof.
It seems like everything in life is about division but if we are gonna come together as a nation we are gonna have to buck what most people say. I believe there are a lot of quiet people out there because they really don’t know what to say. One one hand if they speak up they get slaughtered from all sides. It’s sad but many times speaking up on injustices can actually cause you to be fired.
This is not the country that our forefathers built. This is not the country that Abraham Lincoln ran. This is not the country that Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to see as the future. In his I have a dream speech he brought so many people together but all that has been thrown out the window because of labels.
But you know what is the worse kind of label is? It’s the kind that we put on ourselves. Here is the problem as I see it. When society labels a group of people a certain way for so long then the people start to act the way the label portrays.
If you label a group of people as criminals even with no justification of it they tend to start leaning towards criminal activity as they start to accept it within themselves. If you label people of a group as racists then over time they tend to act it out also as they begin to accept it.
Our minds are very powerful machines and the more we put in it the stronger we become in that area so if we keep feeding it lies then we eventually start living those lies and then everyone who places labels on us will win. We can’t allow that to happen. We have to stand up and say no more labels. If someone is speaking to you privately and they label someone then it is up to us when we notice it to speak up and say not all people are that way.
Women have it bad too. How many times do you see in music where a woman is just labeled as something to be used and abused so men in society over time start believing that. You can’t keep listening to garbage like that without it effecting you at all because what goes in your mind eventually comes out.
It’s time we start teaching people respect. To respect each others opinions without placing that label on them. Sometimes in life we have to agree to disagree with people. There is nothing wrong with that. Its when we want someone to see our point of view so bad that we push our beliefs on them that becomes a problem. Each of us has the right to believe the way we want to believe but I also think that if we all just listen to why someone believes the way they do we just might start finding some understanding and through that God can start healing people through you!
As long as hate stays in our hearts healing will never happen! Allow yourself to be open to others and their hurts and pains and you will find that not only have they been hurt bad but they will in turn want to know your hurts and pains.
What do we do from this point? Remember labels never bring us closer to each other and always divides. The big question is do you want to divide us or bring us together. That is something you have to work out between you and God because of what may be in your heart.
By the way all negative comments on this post will be deleted if we get any because the goal here is to help people see the power of labels and what we need to do with them.
It is OK that you want to associate with like-minded people and that is powerful as long as you are not labeling people who don’t think like you. Sometimes we have to sit back and question our own motives to make sure they are pure and if not then ask God for forgiveness for some of the hate in our own hearts. I believe we can change the world if only we figure out how to change ourselves first!
Be Inspired or Be Left Behind!
Chris Benton