Rethinking our Less-Than Labels
Think about that one label you were given that permeated your soul. It parked itself in your identity and just won’t leave. A label that probably isn’t completely accurate but you believe it anyway. A label that influences the way you see yourself.
For most of us, that label is a less-than label. It is a label that is less than who God designed us to be.
I remember sitting in middle school Social Studies learning about socioeconomic classes. We learned about upper, middle, and lower classes. We even talked about the classes within each class, like upper-middle and lower-middle. We learned that income, education, and occupation influenced each category. Our teacher then asked us which class we thought we fell into. Each of us talked about what we had and what we didn’t have and we all came to the conclusion that we were probably middle class and maybe a few of us fell into upper class. Our teacher just smiled at us and said, all of us in this rural farm community are lower class and a few of us are upper-lower class. In that moment, I was forced to rethink my entire life. So many thoughts were racing through my mind. 2/3 of the people in the world were better off than me. 2/3 of the people in the world had more than I. Standing in a group with 2 other people, I would be the lesser. How could I be so dumb to think I had so much when obviously I didn’t.
What is your less-than label? Are you currently believing that you are less than because of your age, home, car, skin color, school choice, job, hair, clothes, weight, lifestyle, income, health, or IQ? The list of less-thans the world feeds us goes on and on.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be shaken to the core by God’s truths of who I am, not shaken to the core by the lies of what the world says I am not.
In Philippians 4:1 NIV, Paul is writing to the people of Philippi and he writes:
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends.
Paul calls them brothers, sisters, and friends. He loves them, longs for them, and sees them as his joy and crown. Paul understands the tender human heart condition and he knows that for the people of Philippi to fulfill their calling they need to first know who they are and whose they are. The book of Philippians is filled with tender, kind truths that Paul speaks to the people of Philippi. He is breathing truth into them. He doesn’t highlight their shortcomings, their limitations, or their differences.
We are no different from the people of Philippi - we, too, can only do our best kingdom work when we see ourselves how God sees us.
I want the truth of how God sees me to rattle my soul. I want it to silence the lies of all the less-than labels the world has given me.
Moms, we have kingdom work to do. The only way we can fulfill the calling on our lives is to rethink those less-than labels and replace them with His truths. Here are some of the truths that should consume our headspace and heart space.
I am a child of the one true king.
(1 John 3:1)
I am beloved and precious.
(Jeremiah 31:3)
I am enough.
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
I am perfectly designed to parent my child.
(Ephesians 2:10)
I am not alone in my parenting journey.
(Joshua 1:9)
I am fully equipped.
(2 Timothy 3:17)
Let’s first make the choice to not let the less-than labels define us. Let’s hand those less-than labels over to God. He can handle them, we cannot. Instead, today let our souls be permeated by the truth of who we really are. Let’s all find a Paul to speak continuous truth into our lives as we labor in our kingdom work as parents.
God, thank you for continuously pouring truth into our lives. I ask that you silence and remove the less-than lies the world provides. I pray that all the moms reading this will be stirred and shaken to their core by the truth of your love, acceptance, and the ultimate sacrifice that was made for us through the life, death, and resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for this truth.