name

Someone has come up with the following "Rules For Choosing a Superhero Name":

1. Don't call yourself by your real name. (e.g., Ms. Jenny Pinchuck, The Amazing Stevie Foster).

2. Don't call yourself by someone else's real name. (e.g., Mr. Teddy Kennedy, Captain Tom Cruise).

3. Choose a name that suggests power, heroism and prowess. (e.g., Captain Power, Thunderman, Mr. Invincible, Justiceman).

4. Don't be too modest. (e.g., Mr. Pretty Good, Captain So-So, Fairly Incredibleman).

5. But don't labor the point. (e.g., Mr. So-Powerful-Don't-Even-Think-About-It-Buddy).

6. Don't choose a name detrimental to your crime fighting image. (e.g., Captain Spongecake, Mr. Silly, Yellow Streak, Captain Evil).

7. Don't choose the name of an existing Superhero unless you have lots of money and enjoy fighting litigation instead of supervillains.

8. It's no use calling yourself Captain Invincible if your only power is control over Hostess Twinkies and you suffer from a congenital hole-in-the-heart condition. It's just asking for trouble.

9. Don't call yourself the Invisible Boy if you're not.

10. Don't give away important information in your name. (e.g. The Glass Jaw, Captain Vulnerable To Strontium 90).

11. Don't call yourself The Green Avenger if you wear an orange costume. You'll confuse people.

Choosing a name is an important responsibility. Those of us who are parents can remember spending hours and hours reading books filled with baby names, discussing this name and that before deciding on just the right name. Even after much forethought, one of my children was named at birth and re-named a couple of hours later because the first name just didn't seem to fit her.

Not surprisingly, names in the Bible are regarded as important. Names that were chosen may tell us something about the child or his birth (Isaac -- "laughter", Benjamin -- "son of the right hand", Esau -- "hairy"). Some names were changed to signal a drastic change in one's life (Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Saul to Paul).

A name is important because it's not just a word -- it's who you are. Your name is your character, the essence of who you are and what you stand for.

You may not be able to change your given name (at least, not without a lot of expense and trouble), but you can change what people think about when they hear that name. That's why Solomon wrote:

"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches." (Prov. 22:1a)

You are choosing your name by how you live. Choose wisely!

-alan smith