Everyone has a reputation: whether we realize it or not, we have things we are known for. Notoriety for certain characteristics is something we are all very familiar with. In fact, many people have one or two character qualities that are so dominant they’ve even earned nicknames. Think back to your school days: “Mooch” – for the guy who begs for food everyday (when you know he’s got plenty of money for food); “Teacher’s Pet” – for the kiss-up; “Cheater” – for the person who ‘mysteriously’ does better on the test but never studies “ and then there were those cutting names like “Easy”, “Slut”, “Dumb-Butt”, “White-Trash”…I’d better stop there. We are real familiar with the reality of reputations.
There’s a real interesting thing about reputations, almost no one develops theirs on purpose. Why? Probably because hardly anyone chooses to intentionally develop character qualities based on the convictions they hold. In other words, we don’t tend to go through life thinking, “My convictions tell me this needs to be my highest priority, so I’m going to relentlessly make sure it stays that way!” The demands, pressures, and desires of the world tend to crowd out the call to live by convictions; therefore, it is much easier to slip into the mode of racing from one thing to the next without giving any consideration to the deepest things in life. So we dash through life from one think to the next just skimming the surface but never getting any deeper, like a pebble bouncing on the top of a lake – skimming the top over and over and over again.
I think all of this begs the question, “If you could be known for one thing what would it be?” The answer to that question will reveal the convictions deepest in your heart. For example, if you say you’d want to be known as someone who is generous, then you have a conviction that loving and helping people is vital to reality. If you say you want to be known as someone who is faithful, then you have a conviction that being sacrificial for the good of people and causes is what makes a difference in the world. For as long as I can remember, people have described me as someone who is funny. Frankly, this bugs the snot out of me, because I hope the deepest conviction in me is not that life is a huge comic strip and we’ve just got to make the best of it! Reputations are sure hard to break.
There’s a guy in the Bible named Ezra who had a great reputation. His reputation was so impressive, God used him to do amazing things. Any time the Lord can take you and use you to turn the heart of a wicked King into one that would bless God’s people…that’s a pretty cool thing! Here’s a verse that summarizes his reputation well:
Ezra 7:6 [NLT] (6) “This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him.” Ezra was known as a man who was well versed in the Bible and whose life was marked by the presence of God. Every Christian has the opportunity to have that reputation. Every single one of us. What if that happened? How different would your life, your family, your workplace, your lost friends, your neighborhood, … even the world look? What if...? Let's go for it, friends!
