NAME-DROPPERS

I Was Just Thinking About – NAME-DROPPERS.

The American essayist Joseph Epstein once defined name-dropping as: “using the magic that adheres to the names of celebrated people to establish one's superiority while at the same time making the next person feel the drabness of his or her own life. Name-dropping is a division of snobbery, and one of the snob's missions is to encourage a feeling however vague of hopelessness in others.”

Another general description of name-dropping is: “Name-dropping is used to position oneself within a social hierarchy. It is often used to create a sense of superiority by raising one's status. By implying (or directly asserting) a connection to people of high status, the name-dropper hopes to raise his or her own social status to a level closer to that of those whose names he or she has dropped, and thus elevate himself or herself above, or into, present company.”

There are many other possibilities of intent for the one oriented to being a name-dropper. The basic idea is the attempt of one driven by a desire for recognition and acceptance in a special or select group. One is caused to wonder how all of this fits into God’s desire and requirement for His people. When the issue of what is acceptable to God, the prophet Micah gives a listing of what isn’t and then what is most acceptable to Him. It is recorded in Micah 6:6-8 (ESV). The question: “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?”

The question is followed by a list of possibilities of that which isn’t compliant with God’s desire and requirement: “Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” All of that, and more, sounds like devotion and sincerity. Does it come close to that which God wants and requires? No!

In simple, clear and precise words, the correct act of devotion and sincerity is stated: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? To be a name-dropper sets one in a contrary position to God’s requirement to: “walk humbly with your God.” Basically, we are being told that it is not about you – it is all about Him. 

Paul captured this significance and shares his focus and determination in Philippians 3:7-11, “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Prayerfully – consider these things with me!

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