Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!                                    (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).

     My daughter has a trio of turkeys routinely congregating outside her office window. She has named them Larry, Curly, and Moe. Frankly speaking, the girl can be a bit flighty.

     Turkeys are interesting creatures. They are intelligent, curious, and are capable of forming strong social bonds. With the exception of the breeding or roosting season, male and female turkeys live in separate gender groupings.

     Groups of turkeys go by many names. A group of wild turkeys is called a flock, while their domesticated counterparts are known collectively as a rafter. Apparently, these domestic types do not fear drawing attention to themselves, as they make enough noise to raise the rafters, so to speak. In fact, turkeys also are not immune to interpersonal squabbling.

     Turkeys carry many more labels. Communally, they also are known as a brood, posse, mob, gang, raffle, crop, clutch, dole, school, gobble, death row, and rave. Names like these are enough to ruffle more than a few feathers.

     Turkeys aren’t alone when it comes to labeling. We label each other all the time. Labeling helps us distinguish people by their behaviors and personal characteristics.

     We likewise place labels on ourselves. Labeling ourselves helps us identify with like-minded people. We feel a sense of safety by associating with those who look, talk, and live as we do.

     Sadly, labels are incredibly simplistic and can hold us back from living into the best version of ourselves. Change becomes more difficult because of a label we have self-ascribed. We begin believing that there are certain things we cannot do and will never have the capacity to do. Labels set artificial limits to our potential.

     A 2014 study of high school students found that when people believe their personalities aren’t fixed and have the ability to change, such persons were not as prone to underachievement and lived healthier lives. Paul the Apostle believed that great potential lies within those who follow Jesus. At the moment of our conversion, Paul acknowledged that a seed of new life is planted within the human soul. Consequently, every constrictive label we previously had placed on ourselves was erased. With such labels eliminated, Christ has given us the freedom to invest in our potential.

      So, the next time someone labels you as being too old or too young, a geek or a loser, a Karen or a Ken, a drunk or a nobody, remember who you really are. You are a child of God. You may not be yet everything Christ has envisioned you to be, but neither are you now the person you once were labeled to be.

     Just ask Larry, Curly, and Moe. No longer are they known as the three stooges. Today they are all the rave!