It was an event all new parents enjoy: Watching their unborn child turn somersaults on the ultrasound screen. Seeing their child hiccup or suck his thumb makes parents realize that, for real, there is a baby in there.<\/p>\n
A New Zealand couple, Pat and Sheena Wheaton, were so impressed with the reality of their child that they decided to name their son \u201c4real.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when their troubles began. A judge told them they couldn\u2019t do it: New Zealand law forbids the use of numbers when naming babies \u2014 also, names that are likely to offend, such as Hitler or Satan. Bloggers around the world attacked the Wheatons for their foolishness, calling them names that can\u2019t be repeated here. The \u201c4real\u201d controversy caused a furor at our own blog site, THE POINT.<\/p>\n
The Wheatons are not alone in wanting to give their child a name so distinctive it raises eyebrows \u2014 and snickers. Two sets of American parents have named their sons ESPN. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow named her baby after a fruit: Apple. Comedian Penn Jillette named HIS daughter Moxie CrimeFighter \u2014 apparently anticipating a future career in law enforcement.<\/p>\n
But after we stop laughing, we ought to ask ourselves: How will these bizarre names affect the children who bear them?<\/p>\n
According to the research, names are far more significant in shaping our characters and personalities than many of us realize.<\/p>\n
Susan Seligson writes in REDBOOK magazine that \u201can increasing amount of research suggests that our names and our destinies may be inexorably intertwined.\u201d<\/p>\n
Often, she says, the prophecy in a name becomes uncannily self-fulfilling. For example, one study showed that girls with exceedingly feminine names like Lucy and Rose \u201cdid in fact have more girlish personalities.\u201d And although it\u2019s hard to prove, she writes, \u201cour personalities may also evolve to fulfill the subtle mandates our names carry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amy and Leon Kass, professors at the University of Chicago, write in FIRST THINGS that the naming of children is an expression of the parents\u2019 best hopes and dreams. Parents may memorialize a worthy ancestor, historical figure, or biblical character, hoping certain qualities associated with that person will rub off onto the child.<\/p>\n
In Scripture, a person\u2019s name was often intimately linked with what God planned to do with his or her life. For example, at the command of the Archangel Gabriel, our Lord was named Jesus, which means \u201cGod will save us.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Amy and Leon Kass, the act of naming imparts a blessing to the child whereby parents \u201cdedicate themselves to the work of making good the promise conveyed in the good name thus bestowed.\u201d<\/p>\n
This means that Christians, of all people, need to name their children with care. If we desire to raise a goodly seed, as the Puritans put it, we need every resource available to us, including names that point to the kind of character we seek to instill in our children.<\/p>\n
Regardless of what we name our kids, we need to teach them how to make good names for themselves.<\/p>\n
Most important of all, we need to teach our Lucys and Roses, our Apples and our ESPNs, how to identify their own names with the name that is, for real, above all names \u2014 Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
________<\/p>\n
Copyright (c) 2007 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. “BreakPoint with Chuck Colson” is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #1461]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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