It's Only a Name

Names are very powerful. In Bible times, people’s names truly meant something to them. Maybe without realizing it, they lived up to the meaning of their names. So it was life-changing (literally) when Jesus chose to change someone’s name to a name – and a role – that HE saw in them.

I don’t think things have changed that much. Today, names still matter. If your name means “mighty one” you carry that knowledge internally with you, and you tend to live up to that thought and image. Yet, if you were named a name that came with a meaning such as, “forgotten one,” that can be a meaning that can ingrain itself into your heart without you even realizing it, as well.

There are other names that hold negative connotation to them; mother-in-law for example. I don’t know who the woman was, who first gave this name a bad rap, but it’s forever the butt of jokes. And how about “step mom?” It’s very hard to overcome the bad publicity on that name.

A mother-in-law gets a bad rap because I think, in the history of mother-in-laws, the reputation is that she just has to intrude a little.  She just can’t hold her tongue. It’s the way of the woman.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though.

I know many wonderful mother-in-laws who are an asset not a detriment to their families. I also know of people who claim to have had the most caring stepmothers ever, enter into their lives. These women are cherished. So, holding a certain title or name doesn’t have to label you for life.

You can put a new meaning and connotation onto the name, or the title that you were given – and you should.

Don’t let a history that comes with a name, change who you are or who you can be. The true way to win the battle of a bad name, is to change what the name means by living out the testimony.  It’s only a name after all, and we certainly don’t have to live up to bad press just because it simply exists! Defy the odds and prove you are different just by simply living it out. After all, a name doesn’t make you who you are – you do.

So, whatever name you were given – change the meaning to a positive one. Defy the odds and make your role, your name, and your life – a positive one. You can be blessed, and BE a blessing – WITH the meaning of a name you were given, or in spite of it.