Labeling

Okay... guilty. I've done it. I admit it. I've bought one product over another simply because of the label. Whether it's because of a brand name identity, or because I just like the advertising better, I've done it.

But then again, who hasn't. After all, there's a sense in which we tend to identify ourselves by the brand we buy. Call it "Label Identity," or "Label Image." That's why we avoid certain generic products. They don't carry the same image.

Generic has a kind of bad name. Somehow, because the packaging is less flashy... because it lacks the advertising fire power... it's lower quality... it's inferior.

I remember when "generic" first came out. It was in the grocery store--plain white labels with plain black letters. Basic stuff.

Not so much anymore. Even generic has gone through an image over-haul. Even generic has falling prey to the labeling craze. Black and white doesn't sell.

Except for some. For some, black and white isn't about the color of the paper and the ink; it's about their opinion. It's about their understanding of what is and what isn't. It's about how they label their world. And the way they label their world is all about creating insiders and outsiders.

That's another thing about labeling--it build walls and causes division. You got the PC users over there and the Mac users over here. You got the Dodge guy and the Ford girl. Jews and gentiles. Democrats, Republicans. Liberals, Conservatives. Orthodox and...

Anyway, you get it. Labels have a way of causing problems. They can lead to division. They can make things artificially black and white.

Now, labels are good--when they are doing what they are supposed to. They identify what's on the inside of the packaging. But in our consumer driven, marketing powered, advertising rich culture, the label has become an end in itself. They have come to represent product superiority--brand arrogance.

Those of us who have labeled ourselves as followers of Jesus need to get beyond the micro-labeling that tends to cause division... that tends to create brand superiority... that tends to be exclusive and arrogant.

Maybe that's why the very first followers of Jesus were known simply as The Way. Simple, inclusive, basic label. Nothing flashy. Nothing fancy. Just The Way. It identified who they were and what they were about--following in the Way of Jesus. And isn't that what the Kingdom of God is supposed to be all about--following Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.