“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold” (Prov 22:1).
Investor Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” A reputation is a fragile thing; it requires constant care. If you live up to your reputation most of the time but fail to do so in a weak moment, the damage is disproportionate to the act.
I recall the story of the Sunday School teacher who brought a white bedsheet to the class. He held it up for the boys to view. In the lower corner was a dark stain. “What do you see?” he asked them. “That bad stain!” they replied. The teacher now had his object lesson. A person’s life may be mostly clean, but, oh, that stain!
Of course we can’t choose a good name, but we can choose to build one. A good reputation shouldn’t be an end in itself, of course; it should be the product of striving to be the person God wants us to be. Lord, keep us clean today!