Who Are You When Every Label Is Removed?
Updated: Sep 9
It is easy to define ourselves by the roles we have been given. Leader. Helper. Teacher. Servant. Success. Failure. Head. Tail. Roles can describe what we do in a particular season, but they cannot express the fullness of who we are. A position may change, an assignment may end, and other people’s opinions may shift—but our God-given identity is deeper than any temporary label.
The painting “You Are the Fish, Not the Tail” invites us to look beyond individual roles and see the whole picture.
A fish needs every part of its body to move through the water. The head may determine direction, but the tail provides the movement that carries it forward. One part is not complete without the other. In the same way, leadership and service are not opposing measures of importance. Both can express different aspects of the same person’s calling.
You are not merely the role you currently occupy. You are not defined solely by whether you are leading, following, helping, waiting, succeeding, or beginning again. Each role may reveal something about you, but none of them can contain your entire identity.
In Scripture, fish appear in many different contexts. They can represent provision, abundance, calling, and responsibility, but also vulnerability:
“You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler.” - Habakkuk 1:14
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