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Walk In The Name Of What?

Walk in the name of your god?  Sounds kind of quaint and even old school!  But come on now, who really does that anymore?    

According to the Word of God, we all do: “For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.”  (Micah 4:5)

Could this be referring to a protest march?  Probably not!  But, in an effort to get to the bottom of this, I’ll try the journalistic questions of who, what, when, where, and why? 

The “who” is somewhat uncertain.  Some translators use the word nations.  Other translators use the word people.  It also could refer to individuals.  But it does say “all”, as in everyone!  Whether we know it or not, believe it or not, acknowledge it or not, we all walk in the name of something and that something often becomes our god.

The “what” is significant.  When we walk in the name of something, it usually means we identify with that something.  Furthermore, our values typically align with that something’s values.  Thus we tend to walk in, or live by, those aligned values.

The “when” is probably not referring to a walk that is scheduled at a certain time of the day.  The assumption appears to be that when our values align with those of that something, we tend to live them out all of the time.

The “where” is probably not referring to an organized walk with a published route. When our values align with those of that something, we tend to live them out wherever we are.

The “why” is really a matter of the heart.  In a recent blog, I wrote about people taking idols into their hearts (Ez 14:3).  Idols that are taken into our hearts usually grab our attention, affection and allegiance.  So also it is with that something that we walk in the name of, it typically has grabbed our attention, affection and allegiance.

When we walk in the name of the Lord our God, it is an indicator that our attention, affection and allegiance are directed toward Him.  That is His desire for us.

You are going to walk in the name of something.  Best to walk in the name of the Lord your God all the days of your life!

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