The Person before the Label

One sunny Sunday afternoon a family went to have a picnic in the park. They set out the table cloth, sandwiches, and potato salad. Everyone had their favorite beverage. As they bowed their heads to give thanks, little Lilly snuck a peek to see what everyone was doing. Mommy and daddy had their heads down, eyes closed in prayer. Her brother was fiddling about, anxious to dig into the baked beans. Then Lilly looked past her dad. On a park bench, not too far away, sat a disheveled, homeless man.

When the prayer had finished Lilly looked up at her father.

“Daddy, today in Church we heard Jesus tell us that we should feed the hungry,” Lilly said in an innocent voice.

“That we did,” Her father said with an inquisitive look.

“Well,” she continued, “that man over there looks hungry. Wouldn’t Jesus want us to love him enough to give him one of our sandwiches?”

Lilly’s father’s heart began to melt to think that a five-year-old, not only listened in Church, but wanted to do what the Gospel said. He was about to respond when a thought came to him. He sat for a moment and then began to shake his head.

“No pumpkin, taking that man a sandwich wouldn’t be the loving thing to do,” he said.

“It’s not?” Lilly asked.

“That isn’t love. That is kindness. The loving thing to do is to ask him to join us on our picnic. He needs our friendship more than he needs our food.”

Lilly and her father got up from the table and asked the man to join them for a meal.

Every person is made in the image and likeness of God. It does not matter if that life is white, black, brown, red, or yellow. It does not matter if it is Christian, Muslim, pagan, or atheist. It does not matter if straight, gay, or trans. And it does not matter if it is born or still in the womb. All human life is sacred.

God made us to be in relationship with one another. We are called to love one another with sacrificial love. The devil has gotten us to separate ourselves into groups. He has placed labels on us that we can’t see past. When we look at another, we automatically make a judgment on the person based upon the labels they wear. We fear what is different. Sometimes that fear turns to hate. Hate poisons the soul and if left unchecked can lead to action. Every horrific crime committed against a human being has begun when the dignity of the individual is ignored and they are seen as something other than human.

We live in a culture of death. We kill our children before they are given a chance to live. We encourage euthanasia for our elderly when they are all used up so they do not become a burden. We view anyone with a different voting letter behind their name as the enemy that has to be silenced at all costs. The ability to dialog with one another has been lost.

Until the dignity of every person is recognized and restored, we can never take steps to end hate. The first step to restoring dignity is to focus on the person and not the label. When you look at another person what is the first thing you see? Do you see the color of their skin? Do you see the condition of their clothes? Do you focus on the physical attributes? We all should be seeking to see Jesus in that person first. Do I see the black, the homeless man, the transgendered, or do I see Jesus in need of ministering? Do I allow my heart to hate, my hand to extend kindness, or do I pour out love to him?

The choice is yours to make.