What Is In A Name?

That is an important question to consider. A name can be one of two things: 1) a personal statement 2) your parents' personal statement. In some cultures the coming of age means also the renaming of yourself. Sometimes you choose it for yourself. Other times it can be chosen for you- this is the way I think I like it better. That way those who have observed you and can pick out your most outstanding characteristic can name you accordingly. Whereas if we were all to name ourselves we may not do such an accurate job of capturing that je ne sais que of our persona because we haven't come to master the art of judging character-even in ourselves. So we would end up with names like Puffy Jr. , Spartacus, Gapage, Shaniqua, Talks Like THITH, and Cap'n Underpants.

But even the things we name like cars, stuffed animals, actual animals etc. are all expressions of our personal taste. A car named Sparky, a dog named Paul Anka, a stuffed animal named ToeNail tells you something about the sense of humor the owner has and the creativity of their minds. Just imagine what more we'll be able to understand about Jehovah's personality when we learn and understand the meaning of the original names for all the animals, birds, reptiles, bugs, and fish.

When you really get down to it a name is a pretty serious thing. Especially ones given to people. You're named after your Dad's favorite aunt, your Mom's crazy cousin Erwin, or a beloved friend. Your name means "Graceful", "Mighty Seaman", "Feminine Form of John", "God is Gracious"...and so on. The funny thing is that some people live up to the name they were given at birth. Perhaps it's a parent's wishful thinking when they name their child something that means "Sleeps Thru the Night and Never a Lick of Trouble" in it's original Swahili translation.

Band names. Personal email addresses. Shop names. Street names. Nick names. All of these should have some sort of interesting or fitting story behind them. My favorite is when the story isn't that obviously given away by the name- you know it's not like the street is called Maple Street because it is lined by Maple trees. For instance, the name "Foggy Bottom" where did that come from? I mean it's hysterical when you take it at face value, but there's GOT to be a story behind it.

So what does your name mean? What name did you always wish you could change to? What do you name your car, your stuffed animals, and other misc items? Let's get to know you....

And as always! It's TUESDAY! Check out iTunes (free song is by James Blunt. Love him!)