Names and labels

I have finished, for now, looking at those in the Bible whom God named, including those whose names He changed. The natural progression of my study leads me to consider the importance of God’s name. I am not going to focus on His name specifically, that is, not on what it is, how it is pronounced, etc., but on the phrase, “my name.”

God has a different way of asking for respect than do we humans. When we (Americans, at least; I recognize that other cultures may differ) want respect, we say, "show ME some respect," or "Respect ME." God says, "Respect MY NAME." It seems a slight difference, but my task is to determine if that difference is important. Why doesn’t God just say, “Respect Me,” instead of, “Respect my name?” And what does this have to do with what we call Him—especially when it appears His name is not known?

This request of God, to honor His name, appears to be in contrast to our way of honoring a person, one example being the practice of building statues and buildings in honor of past presidents. Our focus is to honor the person; we don't focus on honoring the name of the person, though that is a part of it – otherwise we would not know whom we are honoring. We tend to think that the name isn’t as important as our knowing who it is that the name represents. This is the reason we readily adapt to nicknames for those we honor in all walks of life. 

Here is a short list of examples of nicknames and changed names of people who have been in the news in recent decades:

Alan Alda – Alphonso D’Abruzzo
Cher – Cherilyn Sarkisian
Chuck Norris – Carlos Ray
Conway Twitty – Harold Jenkins
Dean Martin – Dino Crocetti
Demi Moore – Demetria Guynes
Doris Day – Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff
Elton John – Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Elvis Costello – Declan Patrick Aloysius McManus
Engelbert Humperdinck – Arnold Dorsey
George Orwell – Eric Arthur Blair
Harry Houdini – Ehrich Weiss
Hulk Hogan – Terry Jean Bollette
Jerry Lewis – Joseph Levitch
Joan Crawford – Lucille Fay LeSueur
John Denver – Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.
Judy Garland – Frances Gumm
Kirk Douglas – Issur Danielovitch Demsky
Lauren Bacall – Betty Joan Perske
Leon Trotsky – Lev Davidovich Bronstein
Martin Sheen – Ramón Estévez
Natalie Wood – Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko
Tina Turner – Anna Mae Bullock
Tony Curtis – Bernard Schwartz
Whoopie Goldberg – Caryn Johnson

(Source: http://www.innocentenglish.com/celebrity-bloopers-news-quotes/celebrity-names-the-original-names-of-famous-people-who-have-changed-their-real-name.html)

The name makes us think of the person, but it is for us a convenient label; in our minds the name isn’t the same thing as the person. There are some who believe that what we name our children influences their direction in life, and we know that some names may cause difficulties for children because of teasing, but having a name that may cause one to make one choice over another is different than having a name that is you.

Next time I will look at some of the many verses in which God talks about His name.