Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.
Numbers 23:19
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
Proverbs 10:7
The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.
2 Corinthians 8:21
for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man.
Titus 2:7-8
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
Ecclesiastes 7:1a
A good name is better than precious ointment.
Famous for by Tauren Wells
Happy Thirteenth Day Everyone!
Today, I give thanks for a good reputation. It saddens me when people are okay with being unreliable, inconsistent, and lacking in integrity.
I believe I was listening to a YouTube video when I heard a pastor mention that he had been invited to speak at a conference. The pastor hosting the conference where he was invited had this great reputation and the worship leaders/ minstrels were also known to be great singers. The invited pastor said he was so excited and had a heightened anticipation to preach at this conference and finally meet this pastor of great reputation and the amazing worship leaders that would be in the pulpit with him. The pastor said that he got to the conference ready to preach and witnessed a host of things that hurt his heart. The character of many of the pastors and leaders were underwhelming. He said that among the many things happening, the pastor hosting the conference had an enormous bill from the conference hotel because the hotel could not get the embedded smell of marijuana out of the room where one of the worship leaders stayed. He overheard the hotel staff mention that the hotel would rack up in sales off pornography because the many pastors and Christian leaders present at this conference indulged heavily each year during this conference.
I can’t begin to imagine what that experience must have felt like for him. To see that a host of people judge all Christians by the contrary behavior of some would have irked me. I never expect people to be perfect because we all have flaws but pastors, who adhere to the word of the Bible, should be of good reputation and have integrity. A worship leader who is going before the people of God and ministering to them should not be engaged in any activity that will not allow him/her to be consecrated as Holy before the Lord and have a “sober” mind before encountering God’s people. Chapter 2 of the book of Titus tells us that in all areas of our lives we should be models of good works. Proverbs 22 tells us that choosing to have a good name is better than having great riches. I wondering if these Christian leaders missed reading those parts of their bible. (I guess I can’t even assume that people even read their Bibles.) To hear what this pastor was saying really shocked me. I guess I have higher expectations of Christian leadership.
I belong to a prayer ministry/community where I disciple and spiritually oversee many young women and men. I believe in encouraging people to be saved, to read and meditate on the word of God in the Bible daily, and to pray. My community of believers know that I do not play around when it comes to adhering to the word of God and trying one’s utmost to live holy and righteous before God. I don’t condemn people but I let them know the consequences of their sin and immediately try to realign them back to the Heavenly Father when they get off track.
Of the many things that I have heard my spiritual children and colleagues say about me to others is that I am a woman of God with integrity, that I am very consistent to my word, and that I will give the clothes off my back to help others. I honor those word and that good reputation. In no way, shape, or form am I perfect, but I do want to emulate the model that God gave us through Jesus, his son. The Bible says that God does not lie; when He says something He performs it. His word never comes back to Him void but accomplishes what He sends it to do. I believe that everyone should be known for the reliability of their word; the person’s word should be his/her bond. I have even raised my daughter in such a way that she knows that she can always trust my yes. I never tell her that we are going to do something if there is even a possibility that we can’t or won’t do it. The word of God reminds us that a double-minded person is unstable in all their ways. I don’t want to be double-minded or unstable
To her and everyone else, my yes means yes and my no means no.
One day, I showed up at one of my organization’s events and spoke of my involvement with its programming and activities. I had no idea that several of the organization’s highest ranking officials and board members had already heard my name mentioned repeatedly because of the work I was doing with the organization. When these officials and board members finally met me, for some, my in-person persona had matched what they already heard. For others, my in-person persona superseded their expectations.
What I did not know is that as a result of several of their encounters with me and the repeated mention of my name and my work ethic earned me a place to be a “poster child” representative of the organization. While I’m not to keen about being out front and a “poster child” for anything (I love and prefer to be in the background, working, unnoticed), I am so happy that my reputation is that of good report, integrity and blameless.
Today as I give thanks for my good reputation, I invite you to assess your reputation. Is it honorable? Do people highly esteem you for your integrity, consistency and reliability? Or does your character and behavior invoke people to lack trust in you and avoid you? The wonderful thing about life and each moment that we are offered by God, is that we have another chance to change and get things right. If you don’t have a good reputation now, you can work on it and slowly transform it to be what you want/need it to be. I also invite you to donate to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, https://www.stjude.org/donate. They keep their promise of never having a family worry about paying a single bill while their loved ones are undergoing treatment. Staff are kind and loving. Caregivers can relax and focus on supporting their loved ones through the gruesome process of cancer treatment. That’s what I call a wonderful example of a good reputation.
Love ya,
Have a Great Day of Thanks!
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