When we adopt pets, we name them.
When I first got my cockatiel about twenty years ago, Patty and I were dating. By the way, guys, before you get a pet capable of living decades, you really should consult with the lady you’re going to spend your life with.
When I got the baby cockatiel, I needed to name him. I wanted to name him. I had a lot of cute names picked out, but none seemed to fit his personality. Then Patty said, “Let’s call him Dude.”
“Dude” stuck. And after two decades, Dude still keeps us company by sitting on our shoulders and wanting to be a part of whatever we’re doing.
But why was naming him important? After all, Dude wouldn’t know if his name was Dude or bird. Have you ever thought about why we name our pets?
A short answer is this: naming conveys ownership, stewardship, and care. When I adopted that baby bird, naming him made him feel like “mine.”
But have you ever thought about why we feel that way?
As we’ve looked at the play-by-play of the early days of humanity, we see the man placed in the Garden East of Eden and given a job. We continue in Genesis 2 with Genesis 2:18-20.
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
Genesis 2:18-20
New International Version
Ultimately, we get to the creation of women, but at this point in Genesis 2, there is still a lot to see.
The Lord states that there was something “not good” in His creation: Adam’s lone reality. There was nothing else in all creation like him, and he was alone. The Lord Himself wasn’t alone, but Adam was.
There was no “suitable helper” for him. No creature was his equal. No animal rivaled him. He worked the garden alone and went about his tasks in solitude.
Verses 19 and 20a reveal something important about humanity’s role in creation. The Lord brought all the animals (including birds) to Adam to name. This was also part of his work. Naming the animals in creation highlighted humanity’s role in creation.
In the Ancient Near Eastern World, naming something meant one took authority and responsibility for it. This is consistent with the work the Lord gave humanity.
Naming these animals also emphasized the pairings of all animals. There were males and females. But at this point, there was only Adam—only a male.
In brilliant narrative foreshadowing, the passage closes by reminding us Adam had no equal in creation. That was soon to be rectified.
But if you have a pet, consider how this lesson from Adam is still part of us today. We name our pets because they are ours to care for and have as companions.
Life Meets Theology 