Do not label me



Do not label me
Labeling is a crippling method which brings no benefit to our lives, especially our spiritual lives and growth.

I have heard brothers and sisters who say, “we just do not read this author,” or “we do not even listen to this person’s sermons,” or, in other words, we have blocked this channel from our receivers (our minds). Labeling, my beloved, is a grave action that harms yourself, not others. I want you to review in your mind, how many people you labeled, only to discover your label was completely incorrect.
One lady asked a priest known by his seriousness, “are you Fr. Abd El Masieh?” He said “yes I am.” The woman continued saying, “No way, it must be wrong. A long time ago I was on my way to attending this church, but someone met me and said never go to this church, you will hate your life, but today I was in heaven in this liturgy.”

Another story I just read was narrated by Fr. Tadros Malaty. He said that a priest was sent to one church to pray there and he saw a deacon looking very unusual. He had very long hair. When the visiting priest saw him, he asked him to stand at a side so he could pray, and was on his way to ask him not to participate in the service at all. The next day the priest of this church returned and said to the visiting priest, “The saints are not only found in Egypt. Here we have saints too. We have a deacon with a long hair.” The visiting priest was shocked, then the priest continued saying, “This deacon is serving the cancer patients and they pay a lot of money in order to buy a wig, so he decided to shave his hair every two years and donate it to an organization that makes wigs for these people.”

“Do not label, that you be not labeled. For with what you label, you will be labeled; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Adapted from Matthew 7:1-2.
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