Lake Ontario, Lake America, and Keeping Things in Perspective

One of the more interesting things to happen in the world this past week was President Donald Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America”. If I’m being completely honest, my first two thoughts on this were pretty simple:

First, I think it’s a little silly.

Second, I really don’t care.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are actually some worthwhile thoughts for followers of Christ to consider here—not necessarily because the name of a lake is particularly important, but because the way we respond to things like this can reveal something about what we value.

Names Change

The name “Ontario” did not originate with the modern nation of Canada or even the province of Ontario. The name has Indigenous roots and is generally traced to an Iroquoian term associated with a beautiful, great, or sparkling lake. The name “Lake Ontario” has been used on maps for centuries—long before Canadian Confederation in 1867.

In other words, the lake’s name existed before the modern political entities that surround it—and it was almost certainly called something other than “Ontario” before that!

Throughout history, geographic features have been given different names by different people groups, cultures, and governments. In fact, the Bible gives us a great example of this.

The body of water we commonly call the Sea of Galilee was known by several different names during biblical times.

Matthew and Mark refer to it as the Sea of Galilee.

Luke calls it the Lake of Gennesaret.

John refers to it as both the Sea of Galilee and the Sea of Tiberias.

What’s more, it was referred to as the Sea of Chinnereth by Joshua in the Old Testament, while it is commonly known as Lake Kinneret in Israel today.

Same body of water. Different names.

Presidents Possess the Authority to Change Names

This is where I think Christians need to be especially careful.

It is tempting to look at something like the renaming of Lake Ontario and immediately turn it into a political issue.

And, of course, it is political.

But if we are going to talk about it, let’s at least be consistent.

President Barack Obama directed the federal government to use the name Denali instead of Mount McKinley in 2015.

The Biden administration changed the federal name of Mount Evans in Colorado to Mount Blue Sky (not to mention changing the name of many US Military Bases).

Now President Trump has reversed the federal name of Denali back to Mount McKinley, and has renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario as Lake America for federal purposes.

It happens. And here is something worth remembering:

If you support President Trump, you don’t have to blindly agree with everything he says or does.

And if you oppose President Trump, you don’t have to blindly disagree with everything he says or does.

We don’t have to defend everything simply because “our side” did it.

And we don’t have to condemn everything simply because “their side” did it.

As Christians, our standard isn’t supposed to be a political party.

Our standard is the Word of God.

And our allegiance isn’t ultimately to a president.

Our allegiance is to Jesus Christ.

I suspect much of this particular name change is intended to make a political statement and, perhaps, to put additional pressure on Canada during ongoing economic and trade tensions. But whether that’s the entire motivation or only part of it, I think followers of Christ would be wise not to allow ourselves to become consumed by something as trivial as this, because there is something much bigger going on here.

There Is Nothing New Under the Sun

Names change.

Political parties change.

Presidents change.

Policies change.

Borders change.

Nations rise and fall.

And sometimes governments change the names of lakes and mountains.

Solomon wrote thousands of years ago:

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9, ESV)

The names may be different. The political arguments may be different. The technology may be different. But human beings are still human beings.

The temptation to make temporary things more important than eternal things is nothing new… which is why I think this little controversy is actually a good reminder for followers of Christ.

Keep Things in Perspective

We should care about what happens in the world.

We should pay attention.

We should pray for our leaders.

We should vote.

We should seek truth.

We should stand for what is right.

But we should also be careful not to allow the things of this world to become more important to us than the things of eternity.

Political parties and policies will change.

Presidents will come and go.

Nations will rise and fall.

Economic conditions will change.

Cultural controversies will come and go.

Even the names we give things can change.

But Jesus Christ does not change.

Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.

Think about that.

Presidents change.

Jesus doesn’t.

Political parties change.

Jesus doesn’t.

Nations rise and fall.

Jesus doesn’t.

The names we give things change.

Jesus doesn’t.

And for those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, that ought to give us tremendous peace.

This world is temporary.

Jesus is eternal.

This world is not our home.

So whether someone calls it Lake Ontario, Lake America, or something else entirely, it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

What matters is that we know Jesus, that we are trusting in Him alone for eternal salvation!

What matters is that we remain faithful to Him.

What matters is that we don’t become so distracted by the things happening around us right now that we lose sight of the things that matter forever.

One day, the political arguments will be over, the presidents will be gone, and the nations of this world will be no more. But Jesus Christ will still (and forever) be LORD.

So let’s keep things in perspective.

Let’s care about what is happening in the world without allowing the world to capture our hearts.

Let’s engage in the things of this life without forgetting the life that is to come.

And above all, let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.