We talk a lot about the labels society puts on us. The media, Facebook, politicians, they all thrive on division. But what I’ve learned in my own life is this: the most dangerous labels aren’t the ones other people throw at us. It’s the ones we accept and put on ourselves.
For me, that label was failure.
For 19 years, addiction had its grip on me. I looked in the mirror and saw someone who wasn’t good enough. I believed the lie that I’d never be more than an addict. That label became my identity, and the longer I carried it, the heavier it got.
But here’s the truth I discovered, labels don’t define us, God does.
Lesson 1: The Labels We Wear Shape the Life We Live
Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
The labels you accept are the labels you live out.
- If you call yourself worthless, you’ll live like you have no value.
- If you call yourself a failure, you’ll stop trying.
- If you call yourself broken, you’ll never believe healing is possible.
That’s exactly what happened to me. The more I accepted the “failure” label, the more I acted like one. And it nearly cost me everything, my family, my marriage, my purpose.
Lesson 2: Obedience Breaks the Power of Labels
The turning point in my story wasn’t when I mustered up willpower, it was when I surrendered to God.
I asked Him to take the addiction from me, and He told me something I didn’t expect: “Give Me 30 days.”
At first, I thought I was crazy. Why 30 days? But what I later realized is that every miracle in the Bible was preceded by obedience. My obedience in that 30 days broke the chains of the label I had been carrying for almost two decades.
By the end of that period, I no longer desired drugs or alcohol. The label of “failure” was replaced with “redeemed.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 says it like this: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Lesson 3: Labels Limit, But God Redeems
Labels are dangerous because they box us in. They keep us small when God has called us to something greater.
- Society told me I was an addict.
- My past told me I was a failure.
- Shame told me I was disqualified.
But God said:
- “You are my child.” (John 1:12)
- “You are forgiven.” (1 John 1:9)
- “You are chosen.” (1 Peter 2:9)
When I finally believed God’s label instead of mine, my life changed forever but it wasn’t overnight!
Lesson 4: Watch the Labels You Speak Over Yourself and Others
The words we repeat matter. If you call yourself lazy, dumb, or worthless long enough, you’ll eventually start acting like it. That’s the power of the mind.
But here’s the good news, the opposite is also true. Speak life. Speak truth. Speak what God says about you.
James 3:10 says, “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”
Don’t curse yourself with labels God never gave you.
Lesson 5: Healing Starts with Honesty
For me, healing started when I got honest about the labels I was carrying. I had to admit:
- I felt like a failure.
- I felt disqualified.
- I felt like God could never use me.
But when I brought those lies into the light, God replaced them with truth. That’s when healing started to flow.
The Challenge for You
Here’s my question for you: What labels have you accepted that don’t belong to you?
Is it “failure,” “unlovable,” “not good enough”? Whatever it is, know this: God never called you that.
The only way forward is to rip off the false labels and replace them with God’s truth.
Because here’s the bottom line—
- Labels divide.
- Labels destroy.
- Labels hold you back.
But God restores, redeems, and rewrites your story.
Living a God-Inspired Life!
—Chris Benton
