A Reputation, A Good Name, and A Good Deal More

by Jamie Shell & Phil Ware

    A young non-professional preacher was invited at the last minute to preach a sermon at a church in his city. On impulse he used as his text one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not steal."

    The next morning, he stepped on a bus and handed the driver a dollar bill. The driver handed him back his change and he moved to the rear of the bus. Glancing down to count the change before he pocketed it, the man noticed that the driver had given him a dime too much. His first thought was, "The bus company will never miss a dime."

    He quickly changed his mind, however, convicted, his conscience reminded him that the dime didn't belong to him in the first place, and that he needed to return it to the driver. He made his way to the front and said, "You gave me too much change," and handed the man the dime.

To his surprise the driver said, "Yes, I gave you a dime too much. I did it purposely. I heard your sermon yesterday and I was watching you in my mirror as you counted your change."

    The young preacher passed the test set up for him by the driver... and he gave a powerful witness to his faith in the process. A good reputation ought to be one of our most treasured possessions. The Bible explains that our reputation is to be guarded with care. Proverbs 22:1 tells us "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches."

    But as men, let's take this one step further! As fathers, as managers, as leaders in the Church, as Sunday School teachers, as husbands, as buddies, as neighbors... we know our lives are always we on display. That doesn't mean that we try to play to the crowd and live a fake public life. Instead, it means that our goal is to have our Sunday words and our Monday through Saturday life match.

    Our reputation is more than our reputation -- it's the reputation our Church and our Faith will have among those we influence. Whether we like it or not, we're all preachers, and our influence, our reputation, will be more powerful to our non-believing friends than almost every sermon they will ever hear in a church building, a crusade, or on TV. So let's live today, and tomorrow and always with the commitment that our reputation and our example are great tools for God to use to touch our friends with his grace.

Posted: 03/21/2000
URL: http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200003/20000321_reputation.html

(c) 2000, Jamie Shell & Phil Ware. Used by permission." -->

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