Guest Blog: Abbi Zeliff
I Know You Are, But What Am I?
Abbi Zeliff, Central Creative Team
 
“Warning: Under penalty of law, this tag is not to be removed, except by rightful owner.”
After years of seeing this precaution on mattresses, we’ve begun to heed a similar warning where our own lives are concerned. On a quest for personal identity, many of us have become trapped by our ‘labels’. Some we are born into. Others are acquired by choice. And many are tacked on by society and the people in our lives.
What do my labels read? Oldest child. Worrier. Non-smoker. Gold and Blue. Homeowner. Single White Female. Creative. Tall. Organized. Brunette. Old-Fashioned. ESFJ. Stubborn. Follower of Christ.
The amazing thing is how easily we get caught up in our worldly labels, and forget about that last (and most important) one. I justify my occasional lack of faith by saying, “I’m a worrier…that’s what I do.” Or I miss out on opportunities to have spontaneous fun because I am too much of a ‘planner’. Sometimes I even fear that change and innovation will threaten the old-fashioned values and traditions I hold so dear.
But worst of all, I often allow my labels to keep me from living fully for God. Having not grown up in the church, I didn’t commit my life to Christ until age 19. Six years later, I still have lapses where I catch myself thinking, “I’m a baby Christian…I can’t do big things for the Kingdom yet.” And I know I am not alone. I’ve heard so many people say things like, “I don’t know Scripture well enough”, “I’m too shy to be a leader”, “I’m not good with kids”, “I can’t remember names”, “I’ve made too many mistakes in my life” and so on. We’ve become slaves to our own so-called ‘identities’. And the Enemy loves it, because these self-imposed labels keep us from being effective in doing what God has called us to do.
But even on a mattress tag, the fine print is the most crucial: “…not to be removed, except by rightful owner.” God is your rightful owner. He is. And He’s only given you a certain amount of time on Earth to glorify him. We have to stop using our labels as an excuse to procrastinate. We have to stop allowing our pasts and our circumstances and other people’s expectations to define us. Rather, it is imperative that we focus on what Christ calls us: Redeemed. Sons and Daughters. Purified. His Beloved. Mighty Warriors. Holy in His Sight. The Lost Sheep. His Bride. The Chosen Ones.
With labels like these, boldness, authentic joy, peace, and passion follow suit. When you know who you are, according to God—not according to yourself or the world—you become empowered to accomplish things that make an eternal difference.
I challenge you to evaluate whose labels you’re wearing. Who put them there? Are they even true? Or have you just heard them or said them so many times you’ve convinced yourself they are true? Either way, if the labels are yours, you have the right to get rid of them.
So figure out who God says you are. He’s your Rightful Owner. Let him rip off your old labels and replace them with new ones based in truth, freedom, and purpose. Then get out there and live!
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Hi Abbi!
Good analogy. There is one language process, called metonymy, that reminds me of what you’re writing. For exmample, we say ‘The sax has the flu today.’ The noun ’sax’ is the metonymy for ‘the saxophone player’. In metonymy we replace one thing for another. We all use language so we are used to unconsciouslly replacing the real things with other things. Same with God - he’s the real thing - we replace him with lables or even our language. We become trapped. I’ve discovered only recently how trapped I’ve been. Lots of work ahead of me.
Thanks.
Marcin: Thanks for your thoughts. Isn’t it a shame how often we replace the more important, spiritual things with labels and boundaries and expectations? Perhaps it’s because they are more tangible or quantifiable than that which we cannot see. That’s the beauty (and the difficulty) of faith–it’s very real, but it requires us to put our trust in something that can’t be seen or touched.
Abbi,
I love your thought process here and the challenge you lay before us. I think the major motivating factors that dominate our desire to hide behind labels are identity and fear.
“Well, I’m just too shy and not good at evangelism.” This label protects an individual from sharing the gospel with someone. It insulates them from failure. In reality, of course, all it simply does is isolate them from God’s enabling and empowering hands because they will not follow God as much as they will follow the pre-defined boundaries of their label.
Secondly though, it does give that person a quantifiable identity. I really like what you said about us all desiring a more tangible, quantifiable faith, which is rather oxymoronic, of course. But we do. I find myself wondering, what exactly does “A Fisher of Men” really men?” Intellectually I may undestand the metaphor but tangibly, real life application, I don’t have a clue. Perhaps this is why we do cling to labels so much since they give us a clear, calculable identity to call our own, to define ourselves by and with in the mirror darkly world of faith. Labels give us concrete, lasting security blankets of boundaries and help us to answer the “Who am I?” question so many of us struggle with.
If only we could all abandon this insecurity and take solace in the ever-changing, ever-deepening and sometimes ever-mystifying identity of being simply a “disciple of Christ,” no matter what that entails.
Thank you for the post, it’s a lot of meat on a Monday morning!
Abbi,
Thank you for a wonderful post. You have given me a lot to chew on this morning. It is definitely a convicting word to think about what labels I have given to myself that I need to allow God to remove. And then let him put on a new label that says who we really are, and whose we really are. That would be a label worth leaving on.
Thanks again.
J.G.: Great thoughts! I agree wholeheartedly that fear is likely the #1 motivating factor behind maintaining our labels. Perhaps the other explanations could be apathy or lack of motivation to change. At any rate, I think it’s human habit to find a ‘category’ that we are comfortable with and place ourselves within it.
Given free will, we may never see ourselves the same way God does, but I think it’s possible to inch closer to His view of us. Probably the best thing we can do is use the check-and-balance system when evaluating the question, “Who am I?”. As long as who YOU think you are doesn’t grossly outweigh who GOD thinks you are, you are probably on the right track.
Kevin: Thanks for the comment. In a way, it’s comforting to know we are all a work in progress! :) I’d love to hear how you take this challenge and apply it to your life!
a very pastoral post from someone without the label of pastor.
Abbi,
Thanks for the great word.
P.S. - Hi Joey!
Abbi,
I think you’re absolutely right in saying that apathy is the third motivating factor. Perhaps more than not caring at all about growth or where God wants us to be, (I hope) it is more a comfortable mindset or correctable complacency that prevents individuals from shedding the label.
“Why would I try something new or get outside my comfort zone?…after all, it’s comfortable here and I’m just fine with that.”
Perhaps the clearest example of this is in the word complacency itself, which is not defined as out-and-out laziness, but self-satisfaction. The day we are self-satisfied with our label and where we’re at is probably the day we stop trying anything and everything to seek God and help others know Him…which is a humbling thought to say the least.
Abbi,
Thanks for the needed challenge. Excellent post!
Very transparent.
I also needed this challenge.
This paragraph rocked me:
But even on a mattress tag, the fine print is the most crucial: “…not to be removed, except by rightful owner.� God is your rightful owner. He is. And He’s only given you a certain amount of time on Earth to glorify him. We have to stop using our labels as an excuse to procrastinate. We have to stop allowing our pasts and our circumstances and other people’s expectations to define us. Rather, it is imperative that we focus on what Christ calls us: Redeemed. Sons and Daughters. Purified. His Beloved. Mighty Warriors. Holy in His Sight. The Lost Sheep. His Bride. The Chosen Ones.
Thanks Heidi
Abbi,
I have to agree with Heidi on the paragraph she quoted. Your entire post spoke directly to me. That’s often how I feel during a weekend experience–that God is speaking directly to me through Craig or one of the other LC campus pastors.
I grew up in a Christian home and was baptized “on schedule” as a pre-teen, but never really knew what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus. At 44, it’s been almost 3 years since I asked Jesus to come into my life, and it’s a daily renewal to work on my relationship with Him–I can really relate to the label of “baby Christian.” My age is nowhere near to being a baby, even though my relationship feels like it is still in its infancy, but I must set aside that label and choose to reside in the truth of your statement:
“We have to stop allowing our pasts and our circumstances and other people’s expectations to define us. Rather, it is imperative that we focus on what Christ calls us: Redeemed.”
Thank you for your insightful post!
Tina
Hey Patrick!
It’s good to talk to (see?) you again and I’ve enjoyed your posts on here as well.
Still pondering the post, Abbi! :)
Praise God for the wisdom He has given you! Great Post Abbi!
Tina: I think it’s really easy for us to feel like we are ‘behind schedule’. But God doesn’t think that there is a “proper time” to become a true Christ-follower, the offer always stands. I think we just need to embrace the concept of grace and recognize that we are all in a developing stage…some of us have just been developing longer than others.
Heidi, Bobby, Patrick, and Riddle: Thanks for reading! Let me know what your labels say and how you plan to let God remove them! :)
Sheri: Thanks for reading!
Abbi,
I enjoyed your post very much. It made me think of the time I heard an evangelist and speaker from Uganda Africa, who was visiting my former church, make an interesting observation.
One of the most prominent things he noted about American Christians versus those living in third world countries, is that American Christians tend to continue to apply the label “baby- Christian” or “new believer” to themselves even after several years of walking with Jesus. That belief typically amounts to fear of or an excuse to avoid getting more deeply invested in an area of ministry or service in the body of Christ.Sometimes it’s simply a lack of confidence…period.
The African evangelist went on to note that “if you are an native African, and have been a Christian for 2-3 years, you would be pastoring your own church!”
That reality stunned me… for many, many, many reasons but mostly I guess it made me think about how we ‘modern American’ Christians conveniently label ourselves sometimes for the purpose of avoiding the very experiences that will grow us up in GOD.
It certainly is thought provoking to imagine the spiritual ages of some of the people sitting in the pews on Sunday as opposted to those men and women in unchurched countries who are leading entire communities of people to the truth and eternal life in the Kingdom of GOD…having only known Jesus for a few months themselves!
Abbi - where can I find your blog address? This post really blessed me, and I’d love to be able to read more of your writings…
Jim: You are absolutely right. Sometimes we use our labels as excuses to get out of doing what we know we should do. It’s easy also to only look at our little piece of impact on Eternity…we’d all be better off if we started ‘comparing’ ourselves to other believers in the world, like the ones in Africa that you mentioned. Thanks for your comments! Those are somee great thoughts.
Alece: Thank you! This is one of the first blog writings I have done concerning spiritual matters. Other than that, I just blog on MySpace about random daily-life things, which I am not sure would be of much interest to anyone. :) However, I do hope to get the opportunity to guest blog again here on Swerve in the near future!
Are we related?