Dear Glory carrier,
we live in the reality of a fallen world. When the fall of Adam occurred, the devastation was not just spiritual. The entire creation was fractured. Nature itself, our physical bodies, and our biological processes were subjected to decay and deformity. As scripture reminds us in Romans 8, creation was subjected to frustration and groans in expectation of redemption. Because of this Adamic fall, we can all agree that humanity carries a baseline of brokenness and sickness.
Yet, as believers in Jesus Christ who is our healer, we hold onto a powerful truth. Every single one of these consequences was legally nailed to the cross. Jesus won the ultimate victory. Still, we find ourselves living in the tension of the already but not yet. We know the victory is won but we still see the lingering effects of the fall around us every single day.
The Rise of Hyper Labeling in Everyday Speech
In todays society, we have huge access to quick information, scientific data, and medical concepts. While awareness can be helpful, it has created an unexpected side effect in our everyday vocabulary. We have normalized a culture where specialized medical and clinical terms are constantly being ripped out of their true contexts and adopted into regular conversation.
People now routinely use heavy diagnostic terms to describe completely normal human variations and everyday life situations. We see a massive wave of hyper labeling in our ordinary language. We use words like chronic, toxic, traumatized, or diseased to describe minor inconveniences, difficult relationships, or regular fatigue. One could argue that these terms are just convenient shorthand for what a person is experiencing. But the real danger is how quickly we rush to claim these labels as our core identity. We wrap ourselves in the language of sickness and dysfunction before we even seek the language of the Spirit.
The True Meaning of Pathos
The root word behind all of this is the Greek word pathos, which originally means suffering, feeling, or disease. From it, we get words that describe weakness and affliction. The propaganda of infirmities in our modern culture wants to convince you that your suffering or your physical and emotional limitations define your identity. It teaches you to view your entire existence through the lens of a condition, a flaw, or a weakness. It tells you that you are permanently defined by what is broken.
But as Christians, we cannot fall for this propaganda of infirmities. We must remember the true label we carry. We have been permanently marked by the name of Jesus Christ and His shed blood. Our identity is not rooted in pathos or perpetual weakness. It is rooted in His complete victory.
Becoming the Remnant of Wholeness
Scripture tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5 to desire that our whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless and whole. Jesus did not just die to patch up our symptoms or give us better coping mechanisms for our flaws. He died so that we might walk in true holiness and wholeness. This wholeness should reflect in every single area of our lives, especially in the way we talk.
Our vocabulary must be redeemed. If we are truly citizens of the Kingdom, our everyday language should be transformed. Instead of constantly agreeing with the negative labels of the world and speaking disease or weakness over our minds, relationships, and bodies, we need to speak words of life. We need to use uplifting language that aligns with what God says about us.
We cannot stop the culture from diagnosing itself with every passing trend, but we can refuse to let the language of weakness rule our identity. You are not a collection of disorders or a byproduct of biological decay. You are a new creation. Let the world see a people who refuse to be defined by the fall, and instead choose to manifest the glorious wholeness of the One who called them out of darkness.
Blessings <3
