Our bodies are inclined to ease, pleasure, gluttony, and sloth. Unless we practice self-control, our bodies will tend to serve evil more than God. We must carefully discipline ourselves in how we “walk” in this world, else we will conform more to its ways rather than to the ways of Christ.
Donald S. Whitney

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Some people love attention.  Many would like to be famous.  Aren’t these the dreams that we grew up with?

But there’s a problem with fame and the world’s eyes continually watching… eventually, they will catch you doing wrong, and in one minute, all those watching – and everyone to come who knows history will know you by your Label.  “Incestuous”, “thief”, “liar”, “cheater”, “hypocrite”, “murderer”.  The world has a very long memory.  How can you escape it?

I have learned that the only difference between a Labeled person and an unlabeled person, is that the unlabeled person’s secret failure just hasn’t gotten out yet.  Give it time.  There is no perfect person – well, except One.

Jesus experienced being labeled too.  He was “that carpenter from Nazareth” – how could he amount to anything?  How could he possibly be a messiah and savior?  Except…he was sinless.

God’s justice demands a punishment for sin – the behaviors we know are wrong in our lives.  And the form of payment is a blameless life.  Unfortunately, none of us are blameless – even the Bible says “all have sinned”.  But while the world may never forget our Label – God provides a way, and we can be unlabeled in His eyes.  This is what matters most.

We have only 2 choices:

  1. Ignore our need to pay God for our sins, which results in eternity in Hell – punishment for an unpaid debt.  Debtor’s prison.
  2. Ask Jesus to pay for our sins (which he became capable of when he died on the cross, and rose back to life), and follow his leadership in life.

What better ideal can we pass on to our children, than to be a successful follower of the ways of Jesus?