Your Reputation May Be Damaging the Reputation of God

Have you ever considered the idea that God's reputation is not tied to His character, but rather is tied to the behavior of His people?

No one can control their own reputation.

Of course, I need to clarify that anyone's "reputation" is not necessarily an accurate portrayal of who they are. It is simply what people think of them. And everyone's reputation will vary from person to person, depending on what each person has allowed to influence their opinion.

God's reputation is largely derived from the way His people have represented Him over the ages. Is it any wonder, then, that in some quarters His reputation among people is not equal to His actual greatness? How damaging to the reputation of God have been the inquisition, the crusades, slavery, and opposition to civil rights? How much does God's reputation suffer when those who claim to follow Him spend all their time picking fights, gossiping, and asserting their superiority over others?

On the other hand, how much is God's reputation grown by those who care for the needy, who feed the poor, and who serve orphans and widows?

To be sure, God doesn't need our help! The success of the Creator is not dependent on our ability to win a PR competition on His behalf. Yet, he has gifted us with the opportunity to be His ambassadors, and He has declared that we are "aliens and strangers" who are to live uniquely in the world so that those around us will change their opinion about God. We ought to take this responsibility seriously. If we truly love Him, it will not even be a responsibility. Who doesn't care deeply for the reputation of those they love?

Have you considered what might be the greatest obstacle we face in trying to enhance the reputation of God?

Perhaps, it is our own reputation.

How many people's actions have reflected poorly on God because they were more concerned with how people thought of them. In the name of our own reputation, many of us have at times:

• prioritized happiness
• pursued pleasure
• preferred convenience
• persecuted enemies
• picked on the weak

How this must grieve God, and how it must cause those around us to think ill of the one we serve!

As you walk your life's path, take time regularly to consider these question, "Is what I am doing today going to enhance my reputation at the cost of God's? Am I willing to decrease in the eyes of men, so that God's reputation will be enhanced?" Then ACT accordingly!