Labels. They can stick with us.
As parents we are told not to label our children. If a child hears you call him something repeatedly he begins to own that name. If my child hears me introduce him as my "wild one" over and over to my friends he may finally say to himself, “Well, I guess that’s who I am” and proceed to act that way because I have already defined him that way. If we call someone a loser over and over they will begin to feel as though they have no potential and begin to act like a loser.
Labels. They shape how we see ourselves, how we see others and how others see us.
I was speaking with a friend one day and she told me she never refers to someone as a drug addict, but rather a person who has a drug problem. Calling them a drug addict defines them and says that is all they will ever be. Saying someone has a drug problem allows for the potential of change. It says that person can overcome what they are struggling with. It says they are more than their circumstances or what is happening to them.
Labels. They matter in the world of human trafficking too.
We need to stop referring to the victims as prostitutes, but rather as prostituted women. It's a matter of defining who she is verses what is being done to her. Service providers and law enforcement are beginning to change their terminology and society needs to change it as well. These women have been manipulated and coerced into what they are doing and should not be defined by what someone else is forcing upon them. Referring to them as a prostitute robs them of their dignity and leaves no room for their story. A story of abuse. A story of hurt. Referring to them as a prostituted woman says I see you. I care about your story. And your story doesn't end here. A change in the terminology will help us all to see her as God sees her.
Labels. God's labels are the only one's that count.
In our outreach efforts, our goal is to let these women know that God loves them. That they have worth and value. We are reaching out them in a place of vulnerability. They are living in a world that tells them they are worthless, a failure, unlovable, inadequate. Something in their life has caused them not to see themselves as valuable.
Our desire is to replace those lies and tell them how God sees them. Proverbs 31:10 gives us a picture of their worth in the Father's eyes.
"She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls."
God is our creator. He is the one who defines us. And he defines us as loved, precious and redeemed.
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