"Why should the government tell me how to live?" "I wish the government would get off my back." "I wish there weren't so many laws----the politicians are burdening us!" "Why not cheat the government-----they are all cheaters anyway. They take our money and spend it on stupid things." "Keep your laws off my body!"
These common frustrating thoughts and sentiments are cited (no doubt) by many around the civilized world every day; the people desiring to be freed from the shackles and chains of those in higher offices wishing to order their lives and "tell us what to do." And now, another reminder from the tiny country of New Zealand. Recently, two parents (the Wheatons) sought to name their child "4real" after noticing an ultrasound of their offspring and wondering, "Is this for real?" Upon registering the name with government officials, they were rebuffed by laws in the books proclaiming the illegality of names with numbers. According to Rochelle Riley writing in the Detroit Free Press, other countries have also stepped in to stop parents from identifying their newborns with the meaning of names deemed to be hateful, hurtful, and harmful. She states that Germany, according to news reports about the Wheatons, has legally banned the names Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden. French parents must choose names from a national list.
While many have criticized the parents involved for thinking such foolishness upon their brood, few (that I'm aware of) have turned on the government and protested their out-stretched arm and heavy-handedness in banning and dictating what parents can and cannot name their children. But this recent episode does raise an interesting question: "How far should the government go to keep law and order in its citizenry?" And a related one: "What is the purpose of government in men's affairs?"
Hugo Grotius in 1654 said something well worth remembering and re-assessing: "He knows not how to rule a kingdom, that cannot manage a Province; nor can he wield a Province, that cannot order a City; nor he order a City, that knows not how to regulate a Village; nor he a Village, that cannot guide a Family; nor can that man Govern well a Family that knows not how to Govern himself; neither can any Govern himself unless his reason be Lord, Will and Appetite her Vassals; nor can Reason rule unless herself be ruled by God, and (wholly) be obedient to Him." What he meant was that one must rule himself before he can rule beyond himself. It is a chain that builds upon the next link, right up to a nation that can govern itself without significant interference from others.
This incident in New Zealand underscores a deeper problem than a bizarre name. It speaks of governments having to govern man more than necessary because man demonstrates in various ways in history that he cannot or will not govern himself. The pervasive nature of government in our day toward more and more laws tells us that man cannot be trusted to control and manage his own (and his neighbor's) quarters. The Christian scripture says that if a man cannot manage his own household, he cannot manage the church of God (1Tim. 3:5). It even goes further. It teaches that man is depraved and that apart from a God-based government in his spirit, man thinks and does whatever is right in his own heart. The remedy of the Bible is a God who comes to live in a willing human being to govern that person from within his very soul and spirit-----producing a mortal who is self-controlled and knows how to restrain himself from every evil intent. Put it another way: countries like Germany and France would not have to have laws on which baby names are appropriate if the parents were directed within themselves to consider others (and their child) in all their choices. The very reason that some names are banned justifies the argument that the meanings of names have immense importance on that child for a lifetime, as well as society. But if parents cannot even think enough about their baby's welfare that others in government have to step up and parent, we are in much bigger trouble than a restricted name list. That baby will face a world where no one will be trusted because fewer and fewer will be trustable and trustworthy. The extinction of the self-governed is coming unless we relearn the wisdom of the ancients: come under the hand of God and you will know what is good and right.
Adrian Valdivia, BBN Staff