Have you considered how people react when someone mentions your name?

By Dean Collins

I’m guessing we are both in the same situation. Neither of us got to pick our names. Some of us have hard ones to spell, and for others, it’s pretty straightforward. Mine is a one-syllable name, except in the Deep South, where many words get stretched by the rich drawl of some who know me there.

As a kid, I met only one other person with the name Dean. My mother may have had a crush on Dean Martin that influenced my lifelong name tag. His album is one of a few I remember hearing as a child.

I sometimes joke that my mother was a prophetess who knew I would one day work at a university. I worked as a counselor for Auburn University in the eighties, and that’s when I learned my name was also a title. I discovered that titles often have more influence than names. When I made a call to anyone in the university, I was asked my name. When I answered, “Dean Collins,” the tone often changed to one of eager helpfulness. Auburn was a big place with several deans, and when I reached someone who didn’t know me, they just assumed I had authority.

Now, as president of Point University, when a student or parents hear my name, they call me Dean Collins. I’ve given up correcting them (“You mean President Collins.") It takes too much time, and almost always the mistaken person doesn’t realize his error and is just trying to be respectful

Determining influence

Many people are seeking titles because they assume one’s title determines influence and power. Although that’s true in many cases, the writer of Proverbs says a good name (without the title) is a game-changer. “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,” says Proverbs 22:1, “and favor is better than silver or gold.”

One translation renders “favor” as “high esteem.” In other words, with your name comes your reputation. When someone hears our name, they think of who we are, what we stand for, how we behave. It’s not the balance in our bank account or investment portfolio that comes to mind first. They don’t think most about a skill we’ve demonstrated, our strategic thinking, our batting average or golf handicap. Our biggest impact on them is not how smart we are or how many degrees we’ve earned. Any of these factors might be noteworthy, but what matters most is our integrity, love for others, and humility.

Finding favor

God cares most about the qualities reflected by the prophet’s instruction in Micah 6:8: “do justice, . . love kindness, and . . . walk humbly with your God.” His favor flows to those who are formed by his Spirit, reflecting the indwelling Christ alive within us.

Solomon makes one more note along these lines. How much anyone has or doesn’t have is not even noticed by God: “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all.” But he does pay attention to how we treat each other. And having little or having much shouldn’t change how we treat each other. We are all equal in God’s eyes and responsible for our behavior equally.

Your time with God’s Word
Proverbs 22:1-4

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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