Who is Wise?

A good name is to be chosen over great wealth; favor is better than silver and gold.

Proverbs 22:1 (CSB)

A good name.

Below are links to Bible stories at gotquestions.org, highlighting the lives of several real characters: those who lost good reputations, those who regained them, and those who never cared about their reputation at all.

See how their reputations either honored or dishonored God. For those growing in the Lord, how hard do you suppose it was to start over and become trustworthy?

Gehazi – He started off the right way, but was known primarily for failure. His story continued to be useful at least once more.

Abigail – This woman had a reputation for wisdom, and it saved her life.

Nabal – This man was known as foolish and hateful from the beginning and he never looked back.

Saul – In Acts 9 God had to reassure Ananias that Saul had truly been born again.

John Mark – This life was a picture of full restoration.

Believers make choices that often conflict with our values and beliefs. We should think ahead. Our reputation depends on our next decision or the words that we say. Our reputation reflects Jesus.

Honesty is one of the easiest attributes for a Christian to lose when it comes to maintaining a good reputation.

Most often, believers and nonbelievers equally respect others with an honest character.

My husband, Ken, has this consistent character quality—an honest approach to life that I truly admire.

Ken is one of the most honest people I have ever known. Ken almost can’t lie. He hates any form of dishonesty, and that includes drama or exaggeration. After all, both of those things are dishonesty. They are embellishments of the truth.

Ken won’t lie to spare feelings, give false flattery, make polite conversation, or to earn an advantage that he doesn’t deserve.

Because Ken hates lying, he has a radar for lies. He hates being lied to. He knows that when someone lies to you that it is a trick, a deception and a vulnerability.

Although Ken knows that any sin is as condemning as another, he knows that a lie reveals the treachery of the human heart.

A lie is a slithering replica of Satan. It is a counterfeit of God’s truth.

This is just one example of how people will ruin their own reputations and dishonor God.

So, do you see the point? I am not trying to make the stories of Bible characters or my husband’s story your focus.

I want you to see Jesus. I want you to care how the world sees Jesus in your own story.

How does your life as a believer tell the story of Jesus?

How quickly is a reputation established?

How quickly is a reputation destroyed?

For believers, our reputation is everything because we represent Jesus. Think about that. What does that look like?

Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

Ephesians 5:1 & 2 (CSB)

Here are two men from the little letter of 3 John who had outstanding reputations of service to the Gospel. Meet Gaius and Demetrius:

I was very glad when fellow believers came and testified to your fidelity to the truth—how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth…for the brothers and sisters… have testified to your love before the church. 

3 John 1: 3,4 & 6 (CSB)

Everyone speaks well of Demetrius—even the truth itself. And we also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

3 John 1:12 (CSB)

Can you imagine living in such perilous times as the early days of the growing Church and holding your reputation in Christ in such regard?

You see, our reputation in this dark world is defined by Jesus. Here is what our Savior defines as a shimmering, lovely, irresistible believer’s reputation:

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 (CSB)

Let your speech always be winsome, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

Colossians 4:6 (CSB)

In everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.

Titus 2:7 & 8 (CSB)

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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