ROOTED - Thursday, April 23, 2026

Proverbs
22:1

1   A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

    and favor is better than silver or gold.

Reflection:
A Good Name

Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro

It
used to be (I think less so today) that people really valued their names… their
last names in particular. Young people would be proud to have the name _____
(you fill in the blank). It would not matter if you were royalty, but there was
a sense of pride in the last name. You certainly would not want to bring
dishonor to the family name. To some extent this is true today of first names
in the sense that people name their children after their beloved grandmother,
or father, the fun-loving uncle. It is interesting to see this play out in
generations. It was just the other day I was shown a picture in a LifeGroup I
attend of a family (a photo of men) who shared the same name for four
generations (“such and such” the I, II, III, IV). That is exceptionally rare
today.

The
bible seems to value names. Names carry with them significance, after all.
Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, Saul to Paul, etc. Indeed, the book of
Revelation teaches us that when we (“the overcomers”) live in eternity we will
be given a new name (presumably one that matches our character). Again, names
are a significant part of our identity, and we should take care not to dishonor
our names, or the people who gifted them to us. To act like a fool is to
dishonor one’s name and our family who share it. Why? Because “a good name is
better than great riches.” Your name should be cherished, and you should live a
life to honor it.

Prayer

Lord,
may we today remember the significance of our names and live in a way that
brings honor to it.