A Good Name

 

A Good Name

^{Proverbs 22:1} “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”

^{1 Timothy 3:7 “}Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

      We spend years crafting our names.  At the very sound, what impressions flash into hearers’ frontal lobes?  What others think about us matters.  However, as Man is handicapped in his perception, our esteem shall not ride on the opinions of our neighbors.  A battered ball on the court of life, we shall not be.

      Those we hold in respect; we look up to and value their evaluation of us.  Those in the outer circles we can dismiss because they do not know us.  But what happens when we draw fire from friendly forces in close trenches?  The noise of exploding shells about us threatens shock and send us crying with hands over our ears.  If this racket continues overnight, morning breaks with blood and we look for the white flag.  Doubt finds a pole and we affix whatever surrender they demand.

But what if we are not wrong?  False accusations are not new.

^{Luke 14:26 “}If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

     Jesus here is talking about priorities, but it applies to loyal adherence also.  When the bottom drops out and we find ourselves in battle, we must follow our Commander’s voice.  So many sergeants running around giving orders like they wear the brass.  Using the uniform to justify their commands, they threaten conformity as the only answer.  “Shut up and color!”  Their allegiance hangs in the balance of your acquiescence.  Only by laying down your arms are they satisfied.

     A lone soldier and his gun.  He doubts his weapon, his cause, and his belonging.  God calls us to walk away from the troops.  What was lost in the smoke of discharge, He reinstates a purpose by letting us see the front.  He seeks an advance to pierce the enemy’s vulnerable flank.  A new angle on this attack as He shows us the goal of the gain.  No M.I.A., we fall back into formation.

     False accusations from comrades tempt us to run.  However, He seldom gives this right.  He has commissioned the local church to work through such issues.  He has provided the framework and leadership necessary to resolve these matters.  Church division and fracture rarely produce the good He intends.  Offenses must be confronted and resolved in a mature manner.

     What others think of us surely matters.  When witness insults our character, we take it personally.  We can raise our rifles and fire back or keep the safety on.  Shell in the chamber. A simple pulling of the trigger would invoke fleshly satisfaction.  A salvo would feel great like Rambo decked in gear.  We all know how to fight.  He calls us to absorb harm.

     Right to escalation?  God offers none.  He gives us the example of Jesus.  Not raising His hand or tongue to resist, the Roman trooper testified of Him:

^{Luke 23:47 “}Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.”

     God will defend our name if our cause is just.  The fight gets bloody when we pull off the gloves to fight with family.  In patience, we can wait for God to work.  He will exonerate.