Building a Good Name

Worship, Work, and the Name You Leave Behind

Everyone is religious, at least in a broad sense. Since we were made by God to worship God, we are going to worship and serve something. The question is never whether we will worship, but which god it will be.

Will it be the true God, the biblical God, the God who made this world, who made you, who sent His Son to reconcile us to Himself, and who sends His Spirit to convict us of sin and lead us into truth? Or will it be some idol of our own making? A statue we bow down to, an AI agent that flatters us, or plain self-worship? One way or another, it will be someone or something.

Everyone is also a builder. We were made by God to be fruitful, to multiply, to subdue the earth, and to have dominion over creation. This is sometimes called the cultural mandate, because the work of building produces culture. Out of it come poems, music, stories, technology, and systems of government. What you build is the question that remains.

This building usually begins at the most basic level with families. But families do not just build houses. They build households. A household is the whole collection of what flows from a life lived together: traditions, businesses, relationships, love, and a shared story. You will belong to a household, and you will participate in its work.

If you are reading this, you were born with a mother and a father, or maybe you were raised by grandparents or step-parents. Either way, you belonged to a household. And now, whether you have been married for thirty years, are just engaged, or are single, you are building your own. Even if you are alone and disconnected, a single individual is still a seed of a household, the acorn that can grow into the oak.

You are going to worship, build culture, build a household, and magnify someone’s name in doing it. Will you worship the true God? What kind of culture are you building? Whose name is being made great by your household?

That is where I want to go: building a good name. This is a concept that has been lost or obscured in our time. So I want to begin by explaining what Scripture means when it speaks of a name.

The Name of God

When Scripture speaks of the name of God, it is not referring to a mere label or title. In the Bible, the name stands for the fullness of who God is: His attributes, His glory, His presence, and His authority. To know His name is to know Him as He has revealed Himself. To call upon His name is to call upon God Himself. To profane His name is to despise His majesty.

We see this throughout Scripture. In Psalm 8:1, David cries, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” He is not saying the syllables of God’s name are majestic, but that the reality of His glory, holiness, and power, everything His name represents, fills the earth. Likewise, Psalm 113:3 declares, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!” To praise His name is to praise Him.

God Himself makes this clear in Exodus 33 and 34. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, the Lord answered, “I will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’” And when He passed by Moses, He proclaimed His name by describing His character: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” His name and His attributes belong together.

This is why Proverbs can say, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Prov. 18:10). The name is shorthand for God’s presence and power. To trust in His name is to trust in Him.

The Third Commandment comes into focus here: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exod. 20:7). To take His name lightly is to treat God Himself lightly. To swear by His name falsely, or to call upon His name carelessly, is to insult the majesty of God.

This is also why salvation is tied to the name of God. Joel 2:32 promises, “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Peter repeats this at Pentecost, and Paul in Romans 10. The New Testament applies this directly to Christ: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus bears the divine name, and His name represents all that He is as Savior and Lord.

As Herman Bavinck put it, “All God’s attributes are summed up in his name. Hence to praise his name is to praise God himself.”

The name of God is not empty words but the reality of God Himself. It’s His being, His attributes, His authority, and His glory. How you treat His name reveals what you think of Him.

Our Names

When we think of names in everyday life, we usually think of how we refer to one another. My name is Michael. If I am walking through a store and someone yells, “Michael!” I will turn around to see if they are calling me. If my wife is speaking to me and I have zoned out, she may say, “Michael, are you listening?” Hearing my name gets my attention. It makes me respond.

That is what names do. They evoke a response. Sometimes the response comes not from the person being called but from others who hear the name. Mention a despised politician, and people groan inside. Some names are so poisoned by their association with evil or corruption that no one dares to name a child after them.

But the opposite is also true. Many of us carry names from our ancestors, our fathers, grandfathers, or maybe a beloved aunt. Parents give those names to their children not only to honor the ancestor but in hope that the child will carry on the goodness attached to that name in the household. The name is both memory and mission. It points back to a legacy and forward to a hope.

So even among us, names are powerful. A good name can be a blessing; a bad name can be a curse. That is why Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.”

Big corporations understand the power of a name. They just do not call it a name. They call it a brand. A little comparison will help us see why names matter so much for what you are building.

Identity

In the modern world, a brand is more than a logo or slogan. It is the identity of a company. It is the sum of what people think when they hear the name. In Scripture, a name carries similar weight. Again, Proverbs says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.” A name is the distillation of a family’s reputation, character, and legacy.

My last name is Foster. It comes from the English shortening of Forrester. Many of our last names are derived from the skills or vocations our ancestors devoted themselves to. We were called and named by what we did. Even today, a man is not only known by his work, but often comes to know himself by his work. That is why it is hard for many men, when asked to tell about themselves, not to begin with what they do for a living. It is also why many men decline sharply after retirement. They lose themselves because they have lost their name in their work.

Both brand and name are shorthand for identity. Your name is, in a very real sense, your personal brand. To attack someone’s name is to attack him and his posterity.

Reputation

Companies invest billions to guard their reputation, because once trust is lost the brand collapses. Proverbs makes the same point about a name: “The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot” (Prov. 10:7). A man’s word, his honesty in business, and his treatment of others either build or tear down his name.

Once upon a time, Disney had a great brand. Its reputation was so strong that people went to see a movie simply because it was a Disney movie. But a good name can be ruined by a company’s own choices. That is how names work. People will buy on the strength of a good name even when quality dips, but not forever.

A brand lives or dies by trust in the marketplace. A name lives or dies by trust in the community.

Inheritance

A strong brand outlives its founder. Think of Apple, Ford, or Disney. These names carry forward for generations, often stronger than the men who started them. In Scripture, a wise man thinks generationally about his household. His choices attach to the family name and shape how his children and grandchildren are received. “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children” (Prov. 13:22). That inheritance is more than money. It includes the history and weight of the family name.

A good name opens doors. A man may be trusted simply because he carries the right family name. But it is not the name alone that matters. It is what the name represents. Perhaps he has no credit history, but he has a good name. His family does not break promises. They repay debts, and not just on time but early. Because of his name, people are willing to lend him what they would not lend to others. His name is better than his FICO score. His name is his credit rating. That is a powerful inheritance.

A name is generational equity. A brand is corporate equity. Both can enrich or impoverish those who inherit them.

Moral Code

In the business world, people talk about a brand’s promise. If that promise is broken, the brand becomes hollow. Proverbs teaches us that the foundation of a good name is not clever PR but righteousness. “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” (Prov. 3:3–4).

Charles Bridges comments that steadfast love and faithfulness are joined together in the life of the godly. The absence of one buries the commendation of the other. A man may be merciful to the poor, but if there is no truth in him, his mercy is compromised. Another may be upright in his dealings, but hard as flint. Mercy without truth is sentimentality; truth without mercy is cruelty. Joined together, they crown a man’s name with glory.

These virtues cannot be occasional. They must be written on the heart. Scripture repeatedly connects the favor of God with the favor of men. This is why Joseph found favor in Egypt, why David was honored in Saul’s household, and why the early Christians had favor with all the people.

Christ Himself is the pattern: “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). The highest crown of a good name is conformity to Him.

A good name is lived rather than managed. A good brand is proven rather than crafted.

Worship is inevitable. So is building. So is the making of a name. The only questions are which God, what culture, and whose name you are magnifying.

There are plenty of successful households that excel at building culture, but it is an evil culture because it does not flow from true worship. Their names are associated with empty materialism, with people who chase wealth as if it were an end in itself. Or worse, their names are tied to moral depravity. Think of the Kardashians. They have built a household name, but what kind of name is it? What are they building it for? That is the question each of us must face: What name are you building, and who are you building it for?

How tragic it would be to succeed in building a powerful and influential household, but instead of magnifying God in holiness, righteousness, purity, truth, and all the good things that lead to life, to end up building a bad name. Proverbs 10:7 says, “The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.” A bad name decays generation after generation. A corrupt father raises a worse son, who produces an even more despicable grandson. Instead of generations blossoming in holiness, they rot in depravity.

But a good name is the opposite. A good name is a blessing. When people hear it, they are refreshed. At funerals, a good name lives on in the testimony of others: “I miss them, but I look forward to seeing them again in heaven, because I know they knew the Lord.” Their conduct made it plain. A good name should press us to cling to steadfast love and faithfulness, to mercy and truth. Proverbs 3 says that if you bind these around your neck, the byproduct will be favor with God and man.

If you make that your ultimate pursuit, God Himself will give you a good name. And a good name is worth more than riches. Jesus said something similar in Matthew 6: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Yes, you should care about your family’s name. But the first step in caring for your family’s name is to care about the name of God.

Paul warns in Romans 2 that Israel’s hypocrisy led to this indictment: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” That is the danger of claiming to belong to God while living in a way that brings His name into reproach. If you love God, if you love His perfections, you will want to live so that His name is honored. And one of the blessings that flows from defending the reputation of God with your words, thoughts, and deeds is that He gives you a good name with Him and with others.

What is the sum total of your household? What is your household’s name? Is it a good name?

The ninth commandment says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exod. 20:16). Proverbs adds, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape” (Prov. 19:5). One application is our moral obligation to defend the good name of our neighbor. To attack a man’s reputation falsely is to rob him of one of his most precious inheritances. It is no small sin. It takes a lifetime to build a good name, and it can be destroyed in an instant by moral scandal. Many pastors have labored for years to build a good name, only to throw it away through sexual immorality or financial fraud. Some live double lives, outwardly projecting a good name, while the reality behind closed doors is rot.

Our children especially need to be taught about the importance of a good name. One of the great sins Proverbs warns about is bringing shame on your father and mother. “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother” (Prov. 10:1). “A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him” (Prov. 17:25). If you were born into a good family, or into a family that is reforming into one, add to that family name. Strengthen it. Defend it. First, by worshiping God and caring for His reputation. Second, by living consistently with parents who fear God. Do not tear down what others have worked so hard to build. That goes for children, husbands, wives, friends, and church members alike.

Building a name is building a legacy. Maybe you will not leave your children a large financial inheritance. Maybe you will spend everything caring for a sick family member. That may leave you bankrupt in money, but you can still leave them rich with a good name. Wise builders magnify God’s name by building households marked by mercy, truth, righteousness, and love. Fools magnify themselves, and their names rot away.