A Good Name; Proverbs 22:1
What do you think of when you here the names Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin or Saddam Hussein (evil dictators) what about the name Charles Manson (Brainwashing killer) what about Timothy McVeigh (OKC bomber) What about Osama Bin Laden (Terrorist). What about Judas (Betrayer).
Back in the days of Christ, Judas was a reasonably popular name, but you don’t hear many kids named Judas today. Why is that? Ecclesiastes 7:1, “A good name is better than precious ointment” Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches”
I remember living in the OKC area during the time of the bombing. Not long after the bombing I noticed that the Ryder truck Rental Company changed the color of their trucks to white at least in the OKC area. I believe it’s possibly because they didn’t want anyone associating their company with the bombing. Of coarse the company had nothing to do with it but one of their big yellow trucks was used in the bombing.
The apostle Paul was known as Saul but changed his name not long after entering into the ministry possibly because his fame as Saul the persecutor preceded him or maybe it’s that he didn’t want to be associated with Saul the first king of Israel that turned away from God. Whatever the reason was is not important, but he wanted a good name.
Now it’s really not the name itself that matters. The name Paul is no better than the name Saul, but the reputation that goes with that name. People no longer name their kids Judas because of the reputation of that name.
We rarely hear the name Adolph because of the reputation that goes with that name. I saw a TV special where they were interviewing members of the Hitler family, many now live in the U.S. but they have changed their name and very few people ever knew who they were.
They didn’t commit the crimes that Adolph Hitler committed, but that name has a negative stigmatism attached to it.
So how do we get a good name? Companies spend billions of dollars on commercials telling us how good their products are because they want us to trust them. If they are proven to be untrustworthy they lose business and billions of dollars because they have developed a bad name, they’ve developed a bad reputation.
To get a good name we must be a person of character, we must develop a good reputation, and we must be trustworthy. Your name represents who you are. Would anyone want to do business with Enron? What about Firestone? Would anyone want to do business with Martha Stewart? Not with the name or reputation that they have right now.
We as Christians have taken the name of Christ, that’s why it’s so important that we be very careful how we live. We need to do everything we can to have a good testimony because we are ambassadors for Christ, we represent Him, and so we need to be men & women of character.
For the most part, a man’s reputation is based on his character. A man’s character is known by his conduct and his speech. Christ said, “Every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.”
What kind of fruit are you producing in your life? Does your name shame you or bring you honor? Does your name shame your family or bring them honor? Even more importantly does your name honor or Dishonor God?
Pres. Clinton said, character doesn’t matter, but it does. God says, Ecclesiastes 7:1, “A good name is more precious than ointment.” Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches”
