What’s In a Name? Why Do Names Matter?

'A rose by any other name...'

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” You probably recognize that famous quote from William Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet,” about two ill-fated lovers. Juliet was right for the most part. When we hear the word “rose,” certain images and fragrances come to mind. But what if that beautiful flower instead had been called, let’s say, a ‘bumschnozel’?

Names are amazing things, actually. When I was growing up, names like Robert, Leonard, Karen, Elizabeth, Edward, Nancy, Charles and Eileen were popular. Today, not so much. Now kids have names like Sloan, Avery, Maclane, Ryan, Peyton and Ellis – all of which are interchangeable for boys or girls. We also have monikers like River, North, Bear, and Jett. But what is in a name?

 

In the Bible, names are a central part of practically everything that transpires. In the creation account, when God formed the first human, He named him Adam, which means “son of red earth” from the Hebrew word “adamah.” This ties in with Genesis 2:7, which tells us “The Lord formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

 

There was great significance to this first human name, hardly a flippant decision like “Let’s call him Butch, or Bubba.” 

 

The saga of biblical naming was just starting. Next, God assigned Adam the responsibility for naming all the animals. “Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name…” (Genesis 2:19-20).

 

Can you imagine that scene? Adam looks and decides, “Let’s call that one a platypus.” He sees a hulking, horned beast and says, “How about, rhinoceros?” He reaches out to pet an animal and quickly jumps back: “Ouch, uh, that’s a porcupine!” Aardvark, hyena, hippopotamus, eagle, elephant. Seems Adam was the first name-caller.

 

The most important first name was yet to come. After God determined none of the animals was a suitable helper and companion for Adam, He fashioned the first woman from one of the first man’s ribs. Adam responds with the biblical equivalent of “Shazam!,” declaring, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Genesis 2:23). In the Hebrew it’s “ish” and “isha.”

 

Next we read about Adam giving her a proper name. ”Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living” (Genesis 3:20).

 

This “name game” was just gaining momentum. Genesis 17:5 tells about a prominent fellow named Abram receiving a new name, Abraham, which means “the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5). His wife, Sarai, also is given a new name, Sarah, meaning “princess,” also signifying “[God] will bless her and will surely give you a son by her…she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her” (Genesis 17:15).

 

Together they beget Isaac, who becomes the father of two sons. One of them, Jacob, is renamed Israel, “because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome” (Genesis 32:28), following a curious all-night wrestling match with a “man” near a stream called Jabbok.

 

The list of individuals given new names by God in the Scriptures goes on and on. In the New Testament, one of the disciples, Simon, is given the name Peter, which means “rock.” After his dramatic encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, Saul appropriately receives the new name, Paul, reflecting his spiritual transformation.

 

What’s most significant about this ongoing renaming process, pastor and author Tony Evans observes, is “Each name change was a symbol of God’s reality and identity…a spoken expression of who these individuals were and how God was using them.”

 

In the Bible, however, no name compares to “the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9) – which is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the long-promised Messiah. How important and powerful is that name? The next verses, Philippians 2:10-11, give the answer: “that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

When I read this, I envision Christ making His long-awaited return and, as the passage states, every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that He is Lord. Both believers and non-believers will do this; believers out of joy and reverence, and non-believers out of deep remorse, overwhelming awe, and perhaps great fear for having rejected Him and His offer of salvation and redemption.

In the words of the old hymn, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus – there’s just something about that name.” Today, some people use His name as a profanity, but when He returns the Scriptures assure us that everyone will worship and acknowledge He is indeed Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Fixing Flaws to the Masterpiece as Only the Creator Can

Imagine being a renowned artist who has just finished a painting for a major art exhibit. After examining it with pride, he believes it might be his best work yet. About the time the artist is putting his signature to the painting, one of his grandchildren, four-year-old Eva, arrives with her mom and dad. Excited about their visit, the painter leaves the artwork to greet them. 

While they’re engaged in conversation, Eva slips away, enters the artist’s studio, and decides to try her own creative skills. Following the example observed while watching granddad at work, she goes to the paint palette, its oils still fresh, picks up a brush and happily starts dabbing paint on the lower corners within her reach.

 

Her grandfather, noticing she has disappeared from sight, tracks her down and instantly sees the damage Susan innocently has inflicted on his masterpiece. Because he loves his granddaughter, the master artist stifles an urge to cry out in dismay. He guides Eva away from the painting as calmly as possible, places the palette far out of reach, and immediately starts contemplating how to fix his now-flawed creation.

 

If the painter resolves to repair the artwork, do you think he would he ask little Susan to do it? Of course not. He would do it himself, since as its creator, he’s the only one capable of restoring it to its former beauty.

 

Even as I describe this imagined scene, I can’t help cringing, thinking about how I might react if I were in his shoes. The paramount work of a lifetime, painstakingly created and completed, seriously marred by careless hands. Do you just take a “mulligan” or a start-over?

 

In the most profound sense, this is exactly the story we find unfolding throughout the Bible, starting with its opening words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), followed by its description of the creation account. That first chapter closes with these words: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…” (verse 31). By “very good,” I don’t think He was saying, “Not too shabby” or “it’s okay.” It was the greatest “Ta-Dah!” of all time.

 

But we know the story didn’t end there. The first humans, whom the Bible identifies as Adam and Eve, wrecked the Lord’s perfect, idyllic work. Committing what is commonly referred to as the original sin, they defied His command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A singular but devastating act of disobedience and rebellion, with tragic ripples that we experience to this day.

 

One term for those ripples is our “sin nature.” Adam and Eve didn’t keep their wayward ways to themselves. Throughout history, men, women and children have been carrying on their sinful “DNA.” As Romans 3:10 declares, “There is no one righteous, not even one…,” and Romans 3:23 adds, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” From the moment we’re born, we arrive with something inside that seems intent on continuing to taint the Lord’s masterpiece.

 

Toward the end of the 7^th chapter of the book, the apostle Paul – having confessed his own struggles with right and wrong – bemoans, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death” (Romans 7:24). Great question, one most of us have asked ourselves, probably more than once.

 

Hymn writer and former slave owner John Newton himself faced this dilemma, wrestling with his dismal past, but arrived at this joyous conclusion as he wrote, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.”

 

This wasn’t rationalization on Newton’s part. He had discovered and embraced this truth from reading the Scriptures after being dramatically transformed by Jesus Christ. He read passages like Romans 7:25-8:2, in which Paul celebrated, after having asked who would rescue him:

“Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Adam and Eve, and every human ever born since, set about ruining God’s perfect creation, but He instituted a better plan, one that will ultimately dispense with the devastation completely. The Bible teaches this in many places, but one of the great passages explaining what the Lord has done – and continues to do – is 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.

 

It begins by revisiting God’s creative powers: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…” Then we find the incredible declaration that we, even in our current imperfect state, have the privilege of being participants in this redemptive process:

“…And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made [Jesus Christ] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

 

As an old preacher said, “If that doesn’t light your fire, your wood’s wet!”

 

Maybe the imagined master painter we met above didn’t enlist little Eva to help him in restoring his masterpiece; but amazingly by His grace – as Newton recognized – God has chosen not only to reconcile us to Himself through His Son, Jesus, but also wants us to serve as His agents in seeing others restored in relationship to Him as well. Praise the Lord!

Lessons and Tests, Tests and Lessons

Can you remember those stressful times of preparing for a test at school? After weeks of attending class, listening the teacher drone on about some topic, reading the textbook and working through questions or equations, next came the test.

 

I can still vividly recall exam week in college, cramming for one final after another, hoping to absorb and then regurgitate the right answers to earn a good grade. By the time exam week had ended, even without knowing my grades, it felt as if the world’s weight had been lifted off my shoulders. My brain felt like mush, as if I’d squeezed out the last ounces of knowledge.

Recently, however, I was reminded that unlike in academics, everyday life typically operates in reverse fashion. Tim Kight, a consultant and motivational speaker who can encapsulate important principles about life and work in short, pithy phrases, recently observed, “Life works backwards. First it gives the test. Then it gives the lesson.”

 

That’s true. As parents, we teach our children the importance of obedience. We tell them to clean up their rooms, and if they do so, we’ll take them for ice cream. It’s a test. If they do as asked, they get ice cream. If not, visions of sweet frozen treats go unfulfilled. We’re trying to teach them that at every level of life, whether in school, at work, or even when stopped by a police officer, it’s wise to do as we’re told.

 

These days, some young people seem to think when you start a career, you start at the top – and move up from there. However, in many work situations, new employees are asked to carry out mundane jobs. They might think such tasks are beneath them. “I didn’t go to school to do this!” But this might be a test. If they do the work well and without complaining, the boss might decide they deserve greater responsibility.

 

In marriage, couples eagerly exchange “I do’s,” but inevitably there comes the day when they think, “I did?” The happily-ever-after phase of being married abruptly ends with a serious argument, a seemingly irresolvable disagreement, or even an act of betrayal. Alas, another test. Do they give up, shouting the oft-fatal words, “I want a divorce!” or do they determine to work through the conflict, whatever it may be, to find reconciliation? The lesson? The only bowl of cherries life hands you is in the supermarket’s produce section.

 

We see the ”first comes the test, then comes the lesson” throughout in the Bible. In fact, it pops up often the opening book of Genesis. God places Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, then says, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). He might as well have said, “This is a test!” 

 

He gave the first humans full run of the idyllic garden with only one caveat: “You see that tree over there, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? That’s off limits. Every other one is yours.” As commentator Paul Harvey used to say, “And now…the rest of the story.”

 

Adam and Eve decided the all-but-one command wasn’t to their liking. “Who is God to tell us what we can and can’t do?” they thought. So they ate of the tree, succumbing to Satan’s temptation, and we’ve been paying the penalty ever since. God’s lesson was simple: When He makes a command, He’s serious.

 

In Genesis 16 we read that Abraham (Abram) and his beloved wife, Sarah (Sarai), had been unable to have children. However, in the next chapter the Lord informs them that even though they’re advanced in years, they will indeed become parents together, having a son they were to name Isaac. Hooray! 

 

But in Genesis 22:1-18 we find God giving Abraham a very disconcerting command. “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love…. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” What?! Our first reaction is, “How barbaric!” But soon we discover this was another test. The Lord wanted Abraham to demonstrate his trust in Him. He did, and God provided a substitute sacrifice, a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. The lesson: When you put your faith in the Lord, He always keeps His promises.

 

In Genesis 37-42, we read about Joseph being tested repeatedly. Despite betrayal by his jealous brothers, being sold into slavery in Egypt, and then wrongfully imprisoned, he was ultimately elevated to prominence, second in command only to Pharaoh himself. The lesson? If you remain true to the Lord, He will work through you in ways you could never imagine.

 

There are many other biblical examples, but I think of impetuous Peter boldly declaring to Jesus Christ, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you” (Matthew 26:35). Curiously, Peter created his own test – one he failed miserably in denying Jesus three times later that same night. 

 

From that tragic test Peter learned how incapable he was in his own strength to carry out the grand work Jesus would assign to him and the other disciples following His crucifixion and resurrection. We see a humble and repentant Peter being reinstated in John 21:15-19 when Jesus says, “Feed my lambs…. Take care of my sheep…. Feed my sheep…. Follow Me!”

These have a moral for us all. Are you going through a test right now, perhaps wondering, “What’s going on? Where is God in this? Why me?” Just remember, He’s most likely trying to teach you something. First comes the test – then comes the lesson. 

We Have All Failed the ‘Toddler Challenge’

Have you seen the latest social media fad, moms and dads posting videos of their little ones taking “The Toddler Challenge”? It’s pretty simple, but incredibly cute and funny. 

Here’s the idea, if you haven’t seen it: Mom (or dad) sets the smart phone or tablet on video, then sits a little one – between the ages of 2 and 4 – at a table and puts a plate of sweet treats in front of him or her. It might consist of chocolate chips, M&Ms, a donut, jelly beans. Something like that. 

But before little Joey or Lulu can dig in, the parent says they need to leave the room for a minute, and not to touch the candy, cookies, or whatever until they return. Can you imagine what must go through the mind of a toddler? That “minute” probably seems like an eternity. I’ve seen several of these videos, including two of our grandkids, and they are hilarious.

They stare at the sweet treats, do a bit of self-talk – “Mommy’s coming right back” – lean in, or turn away, start to touch them and then, summoning all their willpower, withdraw their hands. One child bent over some chocolate chips and said, “Wow!” then leaned back before temptation got the best of her. Seconds later, when the parent returned, she was praised and then given permission to eat them.

Not all of the toddlers “won” this challenge. One stealthily snatched a couple of jelly beans and then, as soon as her mom returned, grabbed the rest, stuffed them into her mouth and scampered out of view.

Watching these videos, two thoughts came to mind. First, I’m waiting to hear of someone claiming this is child abuse, forcing little children to withstand the temptation to enjoy the sweets until the parent returns. In these crazy times, that wouldn’t surprise me at all. For the record, I don’t see it as abuse or meanness in any way – it’s a revealing exercise in discipline.

The second thought was that in one way or another, everyone one of us has fumbled the “toddler challenge.” In fact, even as adults we sometimes face temptation and then, perhaps after a struggle of the will, yield to it and fall into sin. As has been said many times, “if sin wasn’t fun, we wouldn’t want to do it.”

This is hardly a new problem. It’s as old as humankind. We can find the very first “toddler challenge” in chapter 3 of Genesis. God had placed the first man, Adam, in the garden of Eden, filled with wonders of His creation. Then we read, “And the Lord commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…’” (Genesis 2:16-17).

After creating the first woman, Eve, to be Adam’s companion and helpmate, the Lord left them for a while. In his absence, Satan in the form of a serpent appeared and confronted the first couple. “He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat of any tree in the garden?”’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die”’ (Genesis 3:1-3).

We all know how that turned out. The serpent told them God’s taboo wasn’t a big deal, and they should go ahead and sample the fruit anyway. We don’t know how long Adam and Eve pondered that possibility. Maybe they were like the toddlers, eyeing the fruit, then stepping back and saying, “God is coming right back.” Then moving a bit closer until finally, the temptation became more than they cared to resist.

And we, along with all of the rest of Adam and Eve’s descendants through the ages, have been doing the same. Being instructed by God, or someone else, not to do something we’d like to do, and then deciding to do it anyway.

In the toddler challenge, parents aren’t trying to be unkind. They’re just giving their children a lesson in self-control – and curious to see how well their kids will do during the moments they’re away. Similarly, God doesn’t present us with His commandments seeking to be a divine spoilsport or to deprive us of something good. What He does is test us, desiring to teach and train us in right living. 

The Scriptures explain, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:13-15).

Rather than tempting us, or leaving us to our own devices when confronted by temptation in any of its countless forms, the Lord graciously supplies the remedy: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

We can’t give the excuse, “The devil made me do it!” The enemy can offer tempting suggestions, and they might seem like such a good idea, we act upon them. But God promises He will always provide what another translation calls “the way of escape,” if we’re willing to take it. So we can say, “I won the Toddler Challenge!”

Temptation: The Equal Opportunity Troublemaker

“I can overcome anything – except temptation.” I don’t know who first made this admission, but it was probably Adam and Eve. And we’ve been saying it ever since. Must be “part of our DNA.”

The first biblical couple, of course, had been given everything they needed in the Garden of Eden, and God had provided unlimited access to all but one thing – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which stood in the middle of the garden. That alone was off limits, out of bounds, verboten. But like little kids told not to touch a hot stove, or to keep their fingers out of the cookie jar, the temptation was too much to withstand.

Just because the flower looks pretty, that
doesn't mean it's not a pesky weed.

They probably didn’t run immediately to the forbidden tree to sample its forbidden fruit. They most likely strolled all around paradise, enraptured by all they saw, tasted, smelled and experienced, but every once in a while would glance at the tree labeled “Don’t Touch.” Eventually, their glances turned to longing and, prodded by the tempter, Adam and Eve started thinking, “Why can’t we eat from that tree? What’s so special about that one? Is its fruit better than all the others we’ve already tried? Why won’t God let us have fruit from that tree? If God is truly a loving God, He’d let us have it too!”

Ultimately the temptation won out. They eased over to the taboo tree, plucked a piece of fruit and took a bite. Hence they engaged in what theologians call “the original sin,” instigating the Fall of Man, and we’ve been wrestling with temptation and sin ever since.

As someone has wisely noted, if sin wasn’t fun, we wouldn’t want to do it. Stuff we don’t like or don’t want to do doesn’t trouble us at all. I’m not tempted to eat liver, or Brussels sprouts – I don’t like them. But hotdogs and French fries, pizza, or an ice cream sundae, those are another matter. I’m not tempted to squander hours watching the craziness of the Kardashians, “The Bachelor” or “Honey Boo-Boo,” but can easily become mesmerized by a marathon of “Twilight Zone” episodes or repeats of “NCIS.”

Being made in the image of a Creator God, we have repaid Him by becoming amazingly creative, even in the types of temptations that captivate us. We’re tempted by greed, gluttony, sexual lust and cravings of other kinds, selfishness, envy, anger, resentment, pride, independence from God, arrogance, even – as one website recently pointed – taking questionable shortcuts to success. Why invest time and struggle and energy if we can achieve our goals the “easy way”?

“I can’t help it!” we offer as justification when temptation gets the best of us and we succumb to sin. “The devil made me do it!” we protest, echoing the excuse of Flip Wilson’s “Geraldine” from TV years ago. “I’m only human!” we explain, essentially implying it’s God’s fault.

But we can’t blame God because the Scriptures assure us He will never tempt us to sin. James 1:13-14 declares, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”

Earlier in this passage it does state God “tests” us: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance…” (James 1:2-4). But there’s great difference between “tempting” and “testing.”

Tempting is being presented with an opportunity to do wrong, to sin. Testing, on the other hand, has the positive goal of presenting us with an opportunity to grow spiritually, to excel in our faith. It’s like the difference between one athlete who, as the big game approaches, elects not to work out and instead spends the day drinking beer and eating potato chips, while another spends several hours in the training room, doing everything necessary for being at his best for the game.

We can play the “Nobody’s perfect” card, a convenient alibi for doing – or not doing – as we know we should. But as an old friend of mine pointed out, “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building a nest in your hair.”

Certain temptations vex each one of us, and what tempts me might not faze you. But we all know our own temptations and through diligence we can avoid what James describes: “…after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:15).

Fortunately, the Scriptures promise that temptation followed by sin doesn’t have to be our “default setting.” There’s a way out, it says: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

For a recovering alcoholic, the “way of escape” can mean not entering the local bar. The person wanting to remain faithful to his or her spouse might need to avoid a compromising setting with an attractive coworker on a business trip. Maybe the “shopaholic” needs to avoid the mall. The embittered family member may need to extend forgiveness, even if undeserved or not requested.

Temptations are all around us, beckoning to us like roadway billboards. But they don’t have to assemble nests in our hair.

The Truly Oldest Profession

Throughout the year we celebrate a variety of holidays: Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, Memorial Day, the 4^th of July. But one fails to receive its just due – Mother’s Day.

Sure, we see ads and commercials about buying Mom flowers and candy, jewelry, maybe taking her out to dinner. But for some segments of our society, being a mom apparently isn’t all that cool. As if the calling to nurture children through the various stages of pre-adulthood isn’t enough anymore to prove a woman’s worth. The test of a real woman, we’re being told, is succeeding in the world traditionally dominated by men. If you want to add kids to the equation, that’s OK, too.

Now before I raise feminist hackles, I’m all in favor of women in the workplace pursuing whatever careers they choose. We have several daughters who, along with raising children, are actively engaged in the workplace. My wife spent more than 20 years working outside the home once our kids were in school. My mother had several part-time jobs after my sister and I were in school. But it’s demeaning when a woman is described as “just” a mother. Because in reality, motherhood is truly the oldest profession.

It goes all the way back to Eve – and Adam. Some people believe their narrative is a fable, or allegorical. I happen to believe it’s true. Eve literally became the first person to raise Cain, followed by Abel. Sadly, the account of those boys didn’t end happily, but Eve did have another son, Seth, though not as celebrated as his infamous siblings.

The Scriptures are replete with stories of women who served nobly as mothers. There’s Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who after many childless years rejoiced upon becoming the mom of Isaac. Then there’s Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, who became mother to Jacob, through whom God established the nation of Israel. Many years later, Hannah also was barren until she became mother to Samuel, who went on to be the prophet who identified David to succeed Saul as king of Israel.

Probably most famous is Mary, whom God chose to become the earthly mother of Jesus Christ. Upon realizing her divine calling, Mary responded, “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed…” (Luke 1:46-55). She recognized the honor of becoming a mother, a very special one indeed.

Mary was not only a direct participant in the birth of the One who would become known as the Messiah, but also was there as He died on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind. Who can imagine the myriad thoughts and emotions that she experienced?

The beauty of Mother’s Day is honoring the women who give so sacrificially of themselves to care for the next generation – and often beyond that.

I never cease to admire moms with multiple kids in tow, at the mall or in a restaurant. The other day we saw a young mother with three children – one in a stroller – and a dog as well. Not a father in sight to help out. Sadly, more than 40% of children across our country today are born to single moms. Shame on the dads. Kudos to the courageous moms.

And motherhood doesn’t end when the children leave the nest. In today’s world they often return – I call them boomerang kids, living again with mom and dad until they can afford to live on their own after college or getting started on their careers. And even when the children have their own homes, many moms “graduate” to become grandmothers, serving as free babysitters as needed.

Even the apostle Paul, who obviously never experienced motherhood firsthand, appreciated the importance of that role. Writing to followers of Jesus in Thessalonica, he said, “we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:7-8).

So to all the moms out there, Happy Mother’s Day. Thanks for all you do!

The REAL Root of All Evil

There’s a common misconception the Bible teaches money is the root of all evil. What the passage (1 Timothy 6:10) actually says is, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” There’s a big difference.

Throughout history money – the love of it, that is – has served as stimulus for many forms of evil: Greed, envy, jealousy, unethical behavior, arrogance, murder, robbery, burglary, muggings, bribery, extortion, and many others we could name.

But if there’s a singular root of evil, it’s not money. It’s pride. If you look at the list above, you’ll note in one way or another, each form of evil is a manifestation of unhealthy pride, unrestrained emphasis on self and self-interest at the expense of others.

This isn’t to be confused, of course, with proper expressions of pride – like satisfaction with a job well done, or being pleased with the accomplishments of a loved one. But pride presents its sinful side when “I” and “me” become paramount.

We see pride manifested in competitions for “biggest” and “tallest,” for instance. The Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (did you know there was such a council?) reported developers of new super-skyscrapers all over the globe are installing huge, useless needles atop their buildings in a quest to market their structures as the world’s tallest. The still unfinished One World Trade Center in Manhattan and Dubai’s Burj Al Arab are just two examples.

At this time of year, football fans across the country are caught in “We’re No. 1!” hysteria. For some reason, when our favorite team excels, it’s our chests that get puffed up.

Even some churches display pride in its worst forms – practicing one-upmanship with the size of worship facilities, flaunting statistics about membership and baptisms, even seeming downright self-righteous about “correct” doctrine, traditions and teachings.

This is hardly new, however. If you believe in the biblical story about what theologians call the “original sin” and “the fall of man,” it seems the first sin was not disobedience by eating the forbidden fruit, but Adam and Eve’s being suckered in by a prideful appeal.

In Genesis 3:1-7, the serpent (Satan) approaches the first couple and asks, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Eve replies they were told to avoid only one tree, explaining God had said, “you must not touch it, or you will die.” Then the serpent responds, “You will not surely die…. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

At that moment pride, in all its insidiousness, reared up. The passage doesn’t record this, but I can imagine Adam and Eve eyeing each other and saying, “Hey, that’s right! Who does God think He is, anyway? Who is He to tell us what to do?” The rest, as they say, is history.

In his classic book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, “There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people…ever imagine that they are guilty themselves…. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves…. The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit; and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility.”

The world around us tells us pride is okay, even commendable. “Look out for yourself,” the mantra advises. Baby Boomers (I’m a card-carrying member) have been called the “Me Generation,” describing our zeal for “self-realization” and “self-fulfillment.” But for those of us who have become followers of Christ, such attitudes pose a contradiction. If we take a deep, honest look at Jesus, pride should be instantly dispelled. His life – and death – personified humility.

Jesus had every reason to burst with pride, to “lord it over” everyone around him. But instead, God incarnate became humble. Philippians 2:8 states, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.” He calls His followers to die to self as well.

The Old Testament records what God said about pride: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

God says, “If you want to be proud – be proud about that!”

A Whole Lotta Lyin’ Goin’ On

Is it just my imagination, or does it seem people are lying more these days?

Take last week, for example. Lance Armstrong – after years of adamant denials – finally confessed he used blood doping and other performance-enhancing aids throughout his seven victorious Tour de France competitions. Then we learned Manti Te’o, the Notre Dame linebacker who was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, had been “in love” for years with a fictitious girlfriend that supposedly died last fall. (Hint: You can’t die if you’ve never been born.)

What is it with all this lying?

Lying, distorting, shading or twisting the truth, or as people in government like to call it, passing along “disinformation,” is hardly new. We find the first recorded cases in Genesis, the Bible’s first book. After Adam and Eve defied God and succumbed to Satan’s temptation by eating fruit from the forbidden tree, they initially hid out of shame.

Could it be that Grumpy of the
Seven Dwarfs was that way because
he was often caught lying?

When God asked about their sin, they responded by saying something like, “Huh? You talking to us?” (Who else would He have been talking to then?) Finally they admitted what they had done wrong, but even then shifted blame. Adam essentially blamed God Himself: “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Genesis 3:12). Then Eve gave her alibi: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:13).

Proving the adage that apples don’t fall far from the tree, after their son Cain murdered his brother Abel in a jealous rage, he perpetuated the family’s lying tradition. Confronted by God about what had happened to Abel, Cain’s first response was, “I don’t know…. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9).

Stories about lies and deception carry through the Old and New testaments: Abraham, Sarah, King Saul, Joseph, Joseph, Isaac, Judas, Barnabas and Peter all are members of the biblical liars’ fraternity.

But such behavior is hardly old-fashioned. And it’s pervasive at all levels of society. We’ve heard lies repeatedly from the White House. In recent memory, Richard Nixon’s insistence, “I am not a crook” (of course, he was) and Bill Clinton’s cagey characterization of his illicit relationship with Monica Lewinsky quickly come to mind.

Lying isn’t comfined just to the sports world and politics, of course. We see it almost every day in the business world, in entertainment, and sadly, even in our churches and religious institutions. Does that mean it’s now OK to lie, that we should “tolerate” liars and deceivers?

Certainly not. There are many reasons why truth trumps falsehood, but let me give you three:

1)     The truth is easier. When you stick to the truth, all you have to do is remember and report what’s real. When you lie, you have to constantly remind yourself of the lies you’ve told – because it’s easy to forget stories you made up the last time.

2)     Integrity, once lost, is hard to regain. It takes a lifetime to build a reputation as a person of integrity, but it can be destroyed in one lapse of dishonesty or deception. “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity” (Proverbs 11:3).

3)     Consequences are unavoidable. When we lie, we might avoid discovery for a time, but eventually untruths will surface. “But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

So instead of going along with the crowd, revering truth and honesty make sense. Sometimes it’s a good thing to not be “in style.”