At my new job, I work for a man that sells toys through Amazon.com. My job consists of gathering orders together, labeling each toy, and boxing it up to be shipped where needed.
There are about 3-4 working at a time, and we strive to send off around 1000 toys per day. In that time, I may label up to 100 of the same product (in fact, with a pin that we sell, in the 4 hours I worked this morning, I labeled around 70). To label is pretty straightforward; I look at the object, identify it, and slap on a mass-produced label. Simple.
There are around 7 billion people on the Earth now I believe. That is far more than any pin that has ever been produced. There may be areas where there are as few as 100 people for miles, and there are other places such as New York City that has millions in those same miles. Over 100 billion have gone on before us as well!
Because people sometimes appear similar, we classify those around us and put them into groups: jock, nerd, rich man, hobo, and klutz, just to name a few. Not only are the connotations negative, but they are easily applied: as I spent not even 5 seconds to label a toy, when we label others, it is usually in a very short amount of time and almost entirely without interacting with the victim.
While we may label others in a manner wholly as impersonal as many do with their products, that is not the way things should be. Think of the person you are closest to. Now, describe them in 1 word. You must describe their entire personality, history, appearance, function, and so forth. 1 word not enough? Fine, 1 sentence. If 1 sentence is not enough, I extend the challenge to 1 page! Still cannot do it? Of course not; it is impossible. The relationship you have is built off of the depth of the souls interacting with each other; with each moment your relationship grows, your knowledge of the other enlarges.
God knows each of us perfectly. While we are human and may dismiss others into quick-fix categories, God will not. No two of His children have been, are now, or ever will be identical. We are all born to unique parents in unique locations with unique environments and unique experiences. But most importantly, we each have individual souls. Long ago, Paul taught, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16), and as any good parent knows, no two children are alike. That is why what works with one will not always work with another.
Behind each face is a very long story of how they became who they are now. There is so much to each person! Enjoy that in yourself; you are a unique child of God with a bright future! You are not part of the sea of humanity, but you are one-of-a-kind. In addition to feeling good about yourself and celebrating your own personality, take time to ponder on whom you don't know very well and dismiss due to their "label". Is there a nerd that you refuse to associate with? What about a jock that couldn't know 2+2? Or that jerk that has a heart of rock and could never understand you? Remember that he is a person too, and he has emotions and thoughts just as you.
So, while I may go back to marking and packaging hundreds of products that I could not tell #1 from #2 on a daily basis, I am going to praise my God that He sees me infinitely more than a mere label.
God bless y'all!
Patrick
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