Name Dropping

We can sometimes get so fixated on connecting ourselves to someone who has a good name on earth.

Nehemiah 11:1-12:26

Reference:  v.3a  These are the provincial leaders who settled in Jerusalem… (NIV Bible)

Explore:  I find it hilarious when people start ‘name dropping’.  This is when someone mentions a particular person in their conversation.  They feel this person is important in some way therefore they are trying to make themselves look more important due to their association with this person.  The reason I find this so hilarious is because 9 times out of 10 I have no idea who they are talking about!  Last year my husband and I went to a party of someone involved in the music industry.  I was so worried I was going to offend people by not recognising their importance.  Knowing me I was bound to say, “Nice to meet you Bono.  So tell me, what do you do for a living?”!!
It’s not that I find Nehemiah is name dropping in these 2 chapters of lists, it’s just that I don’t know who these people are, even though they were clearly important at the time and that’s why their name is listed.  While they were once names worthy of being dropped into conversation now they are just names in scripture that are incredibly difficult to pronounce.

Application:  We can sometimes get so fixated on connecting ourselves to someone who has a good name on earth.  But as Christians, if it really came down to it, the only name we should be ‘name dropping’ is that of Christ.  In some circles our connection with that Name can lower our social standing rather than heighten it.  And in other social circles the association is lost because people do not recognise Jesus’ importance.  But that should not dampen our enthusiasm to proclaim Christ’s name, in all we do and all we say.

Prayer:  Lord, you are name above all names.  May we have the courage to show our association with you in every conversation.  Amen.

Have you ever been in a situation where dropping God’s name was looked down upon?  How did you handle it?

Nehemiah