Godly Reputations

Verse of the day: Ruth 3:10-11, Then he said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.

Our reputation is one of the most valuable things we possess as born again believers. As ambassadors for Christ, we are called to be imitators of Him (Ephesians 5:1). Our reputation will often make the difference between whether someone will listen to our witness for Christ or reject us for our hypocrisy. We endanger our reputation for the Lord when we insist on putting on a façade, by behaving one way in private and another in public. Sooner or later, the evil we practice privately will be known publicly. Our dishonesty, lack of integrity, and ungodliness will eventually surface and ruin our Christian reputation. Boaz spoke highly of Ruth because she was a virtuous woman. To understand how great a compliment this was, we must understand that the word virtuous means strength, might, wealth, force (army). In other words, Ruth’s reputation was strong, rich, and impenetrable. Boaz took note of the fact that her reputation for being kind and taking care of Naomi was well known. She was chaste and did not pursue any of the young men. One of the sad things I see amongst far too many Christian women today is that they lack modesty. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” A beautiful woman is not just one who is beautiful on the outside, for outer beauty fades. A truly beautiful woman is one who is modest, of good reputation, and who loves the Lord. For any and all of us, we must take care to guard our testimony. I am not one to care much about what others say about me. However, this does not mean that I should be careless about keeping a good reputation. A ruined reputation can come from other people’s gossip and slander, but the Lord clearly tells us to live in such a way that it shames those who speak lies about us. 1 Peter 2:15 puts it this way, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men”. The other thing that can ruin our reputation is our life choices. This is something I have experienced firsthand; as I am sure there are others who can relate. When we make sinful choices, we can easily tear down a good reputation that took years to build. King David was a good king and a man after God’s own heart. However, most of the time the two things he is most remembered for is defeating Goliath, and having an affair with Bathsheba. Very rarely do I get the response recalling King David’s refusal to harm King Saul when being persecuted and chased, by him, in order to kill him. I do not hear about his brotherly, and affectionate, relationship with Jonathan, Saul’s son, or how good he was to Mephibosheth (Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson), after David became king, keeping his promise to Jonathan to be kind to the family of Saul (as it was common practice to kill the family of the previous king once a new king reigned). All the good that could be recounted about his life is overshadowed by one period of time in his life when he made a life choice that ruined his reputation. Sadly, even though we preach about God’s forgiveness and how He can rebuild broken lives, too many Christians still go out of their way to remind us of the sinful decisions we made in the terrible season(s) of our lives. My former pastor once told me that we should be careful about judging others for the things they already repented of, and of which God already forgave. Nonetheless, the Word of God puts great value on a good reputation. Proverbs 22:1 tells us, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.” The first part of Ecclesiastes 7:1 reiterates, “A good name is better than precious ointment”. The bottom line is that if you already have a good reputation, guard it with your life. It is far more precious than gold in respect to serving the Lord. If you have ruined it with bad life choices, do not be discouraged. Many will criticize and judge, but God can take a reputation that is broken, teach us humility, restore and rebuild it, and still use it for His glory.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).