Well Named

"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches..." Proverbs 22:1

What's in a name? Is choosing a good name at birth all that is required of us as namers? Or is there more to naming someone than just the choice of a fitting name? The ancients believed that whatever you named a child was pivotal to setting the course of their life. That is true to a point, but I believe it only goes so far because sooner or later it is the character of the person that ultimately tells us if their name is a good one or a bad one.

Let's take my name for instance. Devon is a good name I guess. I kind of like it. It's not your average name, but it's not odd enough to be teased about either. I have had it all my life, and am definitely used to it. But let me tell you that it wasn't a bad name until after I graduated high school. I was popular enough, for me anyway. I made decent grades and played sports. I was a decent kid with no criminal record and a favorable disposition. No one had any complaints about me that I knew of, and I was set to continue on a expected course of normal, successful living.

Unfortunately though, I ran into some problems after graduation as I mistook freedom from parents to mean freedom from all good sense. Yes, I started experimenting with all kinds of vices that I had not been exposed to in my adolescent years and went off the deep end. I started hanging out with the wrong types of people doing the wrong types of things. All of these things were highly addictive and took over my life. Well, let me tell you that after 15 years in the drug culture my name was ruined. You couldn't count on me for anything because I was so absorbed in fulfilling my bad habits that I just couldn't do anything else. Normal was a foreign word to me and my life showed it for sure. As a matter of fact, I had so consistently made wrong choices that that became the new normal for me. I was hurting myself and everyone else around me as riotous living always does.

As a result of these choices my name had become soiled. My name absolutely left a bad taste in my own mouth as well as in the mouths of all those who knew me. The very sight of me coming toward you would conjure up bad feelings and bad thoughts and there was nothing I could do about it. I would actually say that I had done enough. The truth is I knew all of this about myself and hated it, but was by this time powerless to change in my own strength. I knew that I needed a new life and a new name. Thank God, that He is in the business of changing lives which in turn will change names. I mean it, now after giving my life to Christ 9 years ago, I no longer have that problem. God told Abraham, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing, and I will make your name great..." For those of us who know who Abraham is, we already know that God definitely made good on that promise as he is called the "Father of the faith." Well, God is no respecter of persons and will do the same for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord and is saved, provided that they not only love God but also do what He commands.

A good name is to be chosen rather than anything else is my paraphrase of this verse. The great riches is the worldly way of saying, "if I had one wish to be granted, I would choose great riches for myself." Well, I have had great riches that came with a bad name, and when it was all said and done I would have given back all the riches for the good name, but couldn't. I was all alone and didn't have any good, solid relationships with anyone who was good or good for me. I read this in a commentary the other day on a different subject, but think it also applies here, "it is better to be cheerfully welcomed into a hundred homes, than to own a hundred homes and no one comes to visit."

Thus we have the actual meaning behind this verse. Choosing a good name is actually the result of making good and godly choices based on His word. The good name is the result of the good choices. The first and best choice is Jesus Christ. And when we are doers of His word and not just hearers only, we become great and are known by our good name. So this week remember if you choose to follow Jesus in obedience to His word you will be called a Christian, and will have chosen to be well named. By the way, I no longer leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth, especially my Lords. Have a great week.

Follow Jesus, stay humble, serve others, and become great.