A Good Name and Great Riches

Shakespeare’s Juliet said, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” However, the reality is that the name rose identifies a particular type of beautiful flower that exudes a correspondingly wonderful fragrance. The bible says that names are so important that by comparison, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” (Prov. 21:1) In recent news we have seen rich and famous athletes, financial gurus, and politicians whose names seemed to be pristine and wholesome, until sin was exposed and their names fell into total disgrace.

Of course, when we understand the biblical principal of stewardship, we know that no one ultimately possesses riches, every thing belongs to God. We are simply His stewards for a time. We do, however, possess a name. Not unlike the rich and famous, our name represents a

historical record of our behavior. Special scrutiny and accurate documentation is maintained by various agencies such as credit bureaus regarding our financial transactions.

The collations and correlations of these records culminate in a grading or score such as a FICO score which defines the quality of our financial stewardship. Do we have a poor name, mediocre name, or good name? If we habitually pay our bills late, or have defaulted on payments, we will have a poor name and a consequent low score. If we have paid our bills but less than optimally and not always punctually, we will have a mediocre name and a middle range score.

If, however, we are good stewards paying all our bills consistently and punctually, we will have a good name and a high score. Credit scores are understood in the business world to define an individual’s character and a high score or rating has great value when obtaining a bank loan, because with higher scores we can obtain the lowest interest rates. If you presently have a bad name financially, the good news is that right now you can make a commitment to pay your bills on time and over time work to rebuild your credit score to a higher level.

A biblical name change took place when God said he would make Abrams’ name great.

After giving him the name Abraham he spent the next twenty five years developing Abraham’s character to match the name He had given him. In the Shakespearean drama, Juliet told Romeo that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention and that she loves the person who is called, “Montaigne” not the Montaigne name and not the Montaigne family.

Romeo, out of passion for Juliet, rejects his family’s name and vows as Juliet asks to “deny his father” and instead be “new baptized,” as Juliet’s lover. When we repent we turn away from our old name and ways and are baptized as a lover of Christ and we take upon a new name, the name of Jesus, a name that is synonymous with faithfulness and power. With the spirit and power of God in us, we can like Abraham, strive to live up to the name wherein we are called, the name of Jesus, the name that is above all names.

 

 

 

The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Greenwich House, Inc., New York, l983

1 Comment to A Good Name and Great Riches

1. 

   in this times of economic recession, sometimes it is difficult to have a great credit score”*-
Amber Phillips on August 12th, 2010

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