shout out to Amer Amen for always bringing the mind-unraveling conversation...
Some months after I ended my Facebook hiatus, around the time of my birthday, an old college friend posted a three word birthday wish on my wall that said, "Happy Birthday, pimp." My wife didn't like that too much; but not only did I see it as not a big deal, I was absolutely clueless as to why she had a problem with a male college friend wishing me a happy birthday.
"He called you pimp. You're not a pimp," she said.
"Yeah," I said, "but, he didn't mean it like that. It's just...you know."
I couldn't even finish defending the situation because my ignorant radar went off; telling me that I should know exactly why Melicer wasn't pleased with the friendly intent.
In ancient Near East and African cultures (where all humankind originates) children were named in mainly two ways. One was that a baby was allowed to display his or her own characteristics for up to months after birth. From there, senior family members would then name the child based on his or her behavioral tendencies. The other way I'm sure still happens today; where the Lord determines what the name of a child will be and informs parent(s) of that name. Today, things are a little different. Plenty parent(s) give a child a "cute" name before they even know the gender. Sometimes they combine the mothers' and the fathers' name (i.e. Dericka) or spell the mothers' name backwards (i.e. Erika to Akire, both examples non-fictional). The other end of the spectrum shows parent(s) giving babies names closer to western American culture to ensure that they are, uh, accepted in society. In either case, the actual substance of the name derives from the self-serving nature of the parent(s). And it appears that in these and other baby-naming situations the only thought given to naming a child is merely cosmetic. I would perceive that to be somewhat dangerous because there is no such thing as a weightless or meaningless word. On the contrary, words can give or take life....so to tag your offspring based on phonetics?
I digress. When studying Jewish (and later Christian) patriarchs and forefathers, we find many examples of the significance of names to address not just individual callings, but prophecies over large communities. For example, Abram was renamed by God Abraham after he was deemed to be a father of many nations that will produce kings (Genesis 17:5-6). Likewise, when Jesus changed Simon Bar Jonah's name to Peter (translated to mean stone), He ushered in the foundation of His church which would be everlasting (Matthew 16:18). It is likely that this occurrence is the basis to the traditional Christian selection "If He Changed My Name."
Clearly, naming our children should take a more spiritual path. But in addition to that, all of our sinful experiences have established a name for ourselves that we cannot ourselves alter. However, in the same fashion that Jesus addressed Simon, He addresses those who believe in His death and resurrection--and changes our name to one that is fit to be in the Book of Life. Therefore, if your name has been changed by the Blood of Jesus, live today in your new, radiant identity!
Peace
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