That's not my name

*insert Ting Ting's song*

They call me Mariam...

They call me Reese...

They call me Stan...

They call me Dot...

...that's not my name.

That's not my name.

That's not my name.

That's not my.... name.

Ridiculous songs aside, it's a funny on-going discussion in Team BK as to whether or not names important. As one who easily forgets people's names, I wish they weren't. I mean, I remember people's words and life stories with no problems. So, if I forget someone's name but can tell you all about them, it's no big deal, right? Unfortunately, It seems that I'm the only one with that opinion. I may feel no need to defend the correct pronunciation of my name, but others really get angry about it. So what if Burkinabé give me a new name? If it's easier for them to remember and shout at me in the market, that's cool with me.

So, hear my thoughts: What is a name, really? Is it just some words my parents gave to distinguish me from other kids in a crowd? Does it prophesy my destiny?

Shouldn't I still be the same person, even if you forget my name? Does it change who I am to call me by something else? I mean, call a chair: a chair, sigilan dò, une chaise, or whatever you choose. You're still going to sit in it all the same.

As I've been reading through and studying the book of Daniel, this idea really stuck out in light of our running discussion. To set the scene, the Israelites are in Babylonian exile. From among a bright, young group of people we see four Jews that really stuck out: Haananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and Daniel.

As they entered their new home, the Babylonians tried to redefine them. In fact, Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-Nego are probably better cemented in history by their Babylonian names. However, we don't see it changing who the Lord had made them. In spite of the fact that Babylonians called them stuff like "Belonging to Aku" or "Servant of Nego," these youths didn't change. In the integrity of their lifestyles, they proved that they still owned their true names:
-"God is my judge"
-"God has been gracious"
-"Who is who God is?"
-"God has helped"

So, it's encouraging to me regardless of what people or culture may say that you are, you don't have to play into that identity. In Christ, God has called you His child, righteous, and loved. That's quite the name.


" The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name."

-Rev 3:12