What's In a Name?

Many cultures name their children with very intentional meanings associated with those names. In America, that is not always the case. Some of us are named after movie actors, or our mom and dad wanted to be original and made up a trendy-sounding name for us. Often, parents choose a traditional-sounding name or a familial name to honor a particular relative. But let’s ask for a moment: what is actually in a name, and why does it matter?

To begin with, your name is a handle or label for you. It shapes how you see yourself and how you are perceived by others, but that is just scratching the surface. To dig a little deeper, we must begin to think about what a name is actually speaking over someone’s life. For example, the name Karen means pure. Many times a day, Karen may hear the word pure spoken over her. That’s a great word to speak, yet she may not believe it. She may not receive it. She may choose not to walk in it. She may choose to walk under another name.

Along life’s road, she may have picked up the name “boring” or “complacent.” She may have picked up worse names than that. She may have been told that she was “unattractive” or “stupid.” Maybe she sees her label as “cynical” or “resourceful.”

What does the Lord say? What does the Word of God say? I can tell you that I walked under the name cynical for many years. This mentality seemed smart to me. The Holy Spirit revealed that He wanted to give me a new name to walk under. He wanted to call me Courage. I encourage you to ask our Father about your name. Ask Him if you are living life at its fullest level in His eyes, or if something has stepped in to hijack your destiny with Him.

Even “resourcefulness” can have a twisted sidestep at times if it leads you to believe that your resources are exclusively up to you. Living in a mentality of lack is not from Jesus. In fact, I feel Him speaking right now: “There will be no lack for My people.”

So let’s keep going for a minute. I was almost done, but here’s the Lord, y’all. Christians are called by His name. The word Christian means “little Christ” or “Christ follower.” When Jesus had to pay taxes, He told Peter to go fishing, and there would be money in the mouth of the fish to pay the tax. If you need something, don’t walk in the name of resourcefulness, scraping, or hoarding. You are the Bride of Christ and called by His name. He will either give you instructions or ask what you have to share.

We are told in the book of Luke about a boy with five loaves and two fish. Come on, y’all! They had twelve baskets full of leftovers! In our culture, resourcefulness is often touted. “Be a prepper,” they say. Do what Jesus says. It is wise to store things—I store things—but at the end of the day, the name Christian is stronger than the name Resourceful.