By Doug Creamer
Our Reputation
You have to be living off the grid to not be aware that Dolly Parton passed away. She was an American treasure. She was a kind and giving person. I did a little digging and discovered that she gave away about half of her wealth to people in need. That is hard to imagine. I heard that she hosted Saturday Night Live and only gave them two rules about her appearance on the show. She would not use profanity and she would not make fun of Jesus.
The way we live matters. Notice I didn’t say that the way people think about us matters. There will always be people out there that put others down. The Bible even tells us that this will happen. It then instructs us to live in such a way that their accusations will fall to the ground because everyone will be able to tell they aren’t true. If we live in a way that honors God, we can be assured that He will take care of our reputation.
Most of us face a much bigger problem than the way others see us; our problem lies in the way we see ourselves. Some people think way too highly of themselves, but honestly, that is not most of us. Most of us think too little about ourselves. We think bad thoughts about our character. We assume our failures and sins define who we are in God’s eyes. We focus on our flaws and shortcomings and fail to see ourselves the way God sees us.
If we have confessed our sins, God promises to forgive and forget them. God does not remember any of your sins or failures. He only sees Christ in you and who you will become. God has many great plans for your future and He sees you fulfilling His purposes in your generation. He sees you as His son or daughter. He sees you as His servant and His best friend. He sees the potential locked up inside of you and wants to bring that out. He sees you as an overcomer.
If God sees us that way, why do we get stuck seeing ourselves in such a negative light? We live in a fallen world and often forget that the resurrection power of Jesus lives in us. While our thoughts and the devil’s lies try to keep us down, God and a great crowd of witnesses are cheering us on. We have to stop looking in the mirror and seeing the flaws and start looking with eyes filled with faith toward our Heavenly Father. We need to learn to see ourselves through His loving eyes.
We should work hard to protect our reputation. The Bible teaches us that a good reputation is more valuable than gold. That means that when we are at work, we should look at our work as working for God, not the customer or our boss. We should give our best to the things we have been given to do. We want our work to bring glory and honor to God. If we cut corners, do poor work, and rip people off then our reputation will suffer. When our reputation is tarnished our reflection of God is impacted.
What do we do if our reputation has been tarnished by our past? First, we need to have the integrity to take the responsibility. Then we will have to work diligently to repair the damage. Hard work pays off in the long run. I think true humility and honesty about your abilities and skills will help build a positive image. Learning from others with more experience will help you build a stronger reputation. Let others know they can trust you and that you take your work seriously. If you break your trust, fail to perform as expected, it takes a long time to rebuild it. A strong work ethic takes an inner commitment that will be proven over time.
I want to encourage you to consider your reputation carefully. What do people say and think about you? Does your work and the way you lead your life reflect positively or negatively on God? Are people attracted to God when they spend time with you or are they repelled? God wants us to be lights in a dark world, helping those who are far from Him to find their way home. Love and forgiveness open the doors to people’s hearts. That’s why Jesus taught us to love our neighbors. Our reputation can help people make a vital connection to God or it can close the door. How we live really does matter if we hope to reach people who are looking for God.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
