When I was young, one of my favorite games to play was tag. It was mostly a summer game played in the evening before dark with the neighborhood kids. Our family was large enough that we really didn’t need any neighborhood kids to play but it was more fun when lots of people joined in.
It was an unfortunate thing in tag if you were “it”. Then it was your job to chase everyone else trying to tag someone so then it would become their job to be “it”. So, the goal of tag was NOT to get tagged.
I’m not really sure kids even play tag these days. It seems like a lot has changed since I was young. We didn’t have cell phones and social media sites to entertain us. We were bored a lot, I will admit.
I got tag in my thoughts because now when you “tag” someone…it’s usually on Facebook or Instagram. It really doesn’t mean the same thing as it used to.
Now, I guess the goal is to GET tagged. If you’re out with a group of people (or with someone at a particular place) and a photo gets posted on Facebook and you aren’t tagged, it can have a negative effect. We might wonder, why didn’t I get tagged? Did they forget to tag me or just didn’t want to tag me?
I’m sure that mostly it happens due to thoughtlessness and nothing else. However, it can leave us feeling left out and hurt. If it happens more than once, you can’t help but take it personally even if you shouldn’t. The issue is that we want acknowledgement by being tagged.
As I searched the scriptures for the word acknowledgement, thinking I wanted to go in the direction of God acknowledging us, I discovered that the word acknowledge popped up in my search more times than I imagined and the scriptures I found were more about God wanting acknowledgment instead of what I thought I was looking for.
Really, it makes perfect sense. We were created in God’s image and we want to feel acknowledged. So does He.
“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him for he acknowledges my name.” Psalm 91:14
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6
“But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.” Hosea 13:4
You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power! Isaiah 33:13
Wow…not what I had in mind when I started searching but I’m glad that God brought this to my attention. These are only a few of many scriptures.
It's our nature to make it all about us trying to gain acceptance and acknowledgement from others but it's not about us at all and we are not "it".
Do not be thoughtless as we often are but remember who should truly be acknowledged for all the incredible things He has done in our lives.