Many have heard the popular question "What's in a name?"
But have you really stopped and thought about the significance your name has in
your life? A name has the power to hold a person’s identity in one single
word. Its how we are known and referred to in this world. Their name is the
first word that comes to mind when another is thinking of a specific person.
Needless to say, names are very personal.
I started thinking more about
names this past summer. I have always loved to read, but books have never
captured so much of my attention in absolute enjoyment as they have recently.
And while I like a variety of books, my favorite genera is regency period
novels. One thing that sticks out to me in these books is how the people
are addressed. It is understood that the first name is held at the
highest respect and only used by those who are closest to that person. When
use, it indicates a higher level familiarly. Therefore, out of respect, a
person must be given permission to use it.
The people who lived during the
regency period viewed surname as more than part of their identity. It held
their reputation among society. It gave them security in their future and belonging.
To the people in the regency period, the surname was of upmost importance.
And so, to answer that well known question: everything.
Everything is in a name. They should be respected and honored. And yet
sadly, our name is one of the first things attacked by those closest to us. By
those we would give permission to use our first given name. By those we trust.
All things have an opposite.
The opposite of respecting a name or someone's identity is disrespect or
destruction. One sure way to destroy another's name, reputation, identity
is through gossip. Gossip is when we talk of others in a degrading way. We say
words that are unkind and hateful. We use their name in vain. In a novel I recently
read, Sofia, the main character, was discussing her feelings to Mr. Gerald of
others gossiping about her. His reply, though simple, was very profound
to me. He said "...people say all manner of things when they do not
understand the truth."[1] How woeful that people
will take someone’s identity and pursue its destruction when they do not
understand the truth.
I'm sure we have all had our
names dragged through the mud a time or two. I know I have. It is hurtful. I
felt betrayed and hated. I wondered what I did that made these people
talk so poorly about me with others that I also respected. It played with how I
saw myself. It influenced how others saw me. In every sense of the word, gossip
is destructive.
And that has made me think...
There is one person who lived
on this earth that has had his name, his identity, disrespected more than
anyone else. I believe many do it not understanding the truth of what they are
doing. I come across people every day who use the Saviors name as a way to
express emotions such as frustration, annoyance, fear, and hate. This wrenches
my heart because His name symbolizes nothing even near those
emotions.
The other day I heard children
make joking remarks about the Saviors name. It broke my heart that
children were mocking that very being who will comfort and love them. I am even
more despondent to know that they learn this very behavior from grown-ups that
should be teaching them respect. They should be encouraging depth, gratitude,
patience, and love. And yet, these very comments were a display of mockery,
emptiness, and pride.
Robert Millet wrote, "To
speak the name of Christ lightly or to speak of the work of the Only Begotten
Son flippantly is to take the name of the Lord in vain. Vanity is lightness,
shallowness, emptiness."[2] How sad that people
use the name of Christ with shallowness and emptiness. And how ironic that He,
the one so many disrespect and aim to destroy, is the one and only that has
saved us from destruction.
I am in awe when I think of the
many things Christ has done for me. All that I have and am able to do is
because of Him. I am grateful and humbled, and therefore use his name with
absolute respect and reverence. He is my Redeemer, Creator, and King. He
is the Almighty, the Most High, and Eternal Judge. He is the True and Living
God, Holy One of Israel, and True Messiah.
I know he lives. I know he redeemed us from destruction. I know he is all forgiving, loving, and kind. I respect him and serve him. He is my god and, more intimately, my friend. I will forever keep his name sacred. For his name... He, is my everything.
[1]
Allen, Nancy Campbell (2017) The Secret of the Indian Orchid. Salt Lake City, UT:
Shadow Mountain.
[2]
Millet, Robert (2018). The Atoning One. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book
Company.
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