Our Children Walk Through Our Reputations
Scriptures: Ecclesiastes 10:1-3; 2 Timothy 1:2-7
Introduction:
Someone said that the apple does not fall too far from the tree. Keep this in mind as I will come back to this statement when I close.
If you could give your children anything of value that would last them a life time – what would you give them? Would you give them money? Would you give them a great education? Would you give them a home that is totally paid for? What would you give them? I ask you this question because I have a suggestion. The title of my message this morning is “Our Children Walk Through Our Reputation.” My suggestion is that we make this walk for them as easy and peaceful as possible so that they might do the same for their children. To do this we must guard both our natural and our spiritual reputations.
Several weeks ago I delivered a message to you titled: "Our Reputations Precedes Us." In that message I told you how people will form opinions about us based on what they have heard about us long before they ever meet us. I told you that oftentimes people will think they know us based on what they have heard about us. This applies to us in the natural and in the spiritual realm. In that message I used the story of Samson to illustrate how we have formed an opinion of what he looked like even though the Bible never described him. Our opinion of what he looked like is based solely on the strength that he demonstrated when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. As I told you in that message, Samson could have looked very average versus the muscle bound man that we think of when we think about him. When I discussed the spiritual aspect of our reputation I used the story of the seven sons of Sceva. They tried to cast a demonic spirit out of a man using the name of Jesus “whom Paul was preaching about.” They did not have a relationship with Jesus and therefore they could not cast out the demonic spirit. They were beaten and sent away naked by the man who had the demonic spirit. When I concluded that message I asked you what your natural reputation was and if your spiritual reputation was one in which God knew He could count on you. I asked if you were known spiritually as someone God knew could be trusted with an assignment and that the assignment would be completed as given.
This morning I want you to consider the fact that our children must walk through our reputations – whether they are good or bad. Whatever we are “known” for is ever present before the eyes of our children. While it would be nice to think that they have a choice about whether they have to walk through our reputations or not, in reality initially they do not. They have to live with what others think about us. As it pertains to our spiritual reputations, they, better than anyone, will be able to see if what we show folks on Sunday is what we are on Monday – at home. Believe it or not, our children are keenly aware of what our spiritual reputations are and if God can count on us. Privately our children see how much time we “possibly” spend praying and studying God’s word. They see how much importance we put on understanding and having a relationship with God. From this they are able to make determinations about how important God really is in our lives and how important they should make Him in THEIR lives! The worst thing we can do to our children from a spiritual perspective is to be one way at Church and another outside of Church. We all make mistakes and must live through them, but I am talking about a contradictory lifestyle. But let me start with how our natural reputation impacts our children. Turn with me to the tenth chapter of Ecclesiastes.
I. A Fool’s Reputation
“Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor. A wise man’s heart directs him towards the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left. Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.”
Ecclesiastes 10:1-4
Among the Jews, oil rendered fragrant by being mixed with precious drugs was used for many different purposes. With it priests and kings were anointed when they entered upon their offices. It was used medicinally for outward application to the bodies of the sick, or with it corpses and the clothes in which they were wrapped were besprinkled before burial. Great care was needed in the preparation of the material used for such special purposes. Elaborately confected as the ointment was, it was easily spoiled and rendered worthless. For this reason it was necessary not only to take great pains in making it, but also in preserving it from contamination when made. If the vase or bottle in which it was in was accidentally left open, its contents might soon be destroyed. A dead fly would soon corrupt the ointment, and turn it into a pestilent odor. In verses two and three we find the contrast between the wise and the foolish man. In these verses the use of the terms right or left has nothing to do with our modern use of these terms to label political liberals or conservatives. This basically says that wisdom and folly go in two opposite directions. In the ancient world, right symbolized power, honor, authority and strength (Genesis 48:18; Isaiah 41:10). Left represented the opposite – weakness or even evil. The verses are saying that the wise man’s heart, his understanding and sentiment, lead him to what is right, while the fools heart leads him astray. What is so interesting is that in verse three it talks about the foolish man’s actions being very public. In other words, because of the way he acts everyone knows that he is a fool. His foolishness is not hidden or in secret, it is very public for all to see. Now imagine if you will if you were the child of that foolish man. What would your life be like?
The late Michael Jackson was once known as a very talented and gifted musical artist who truly cared about children. Then he was arrested on child molestation charges which were later dropped. His reputation was irreversibly damaged when he went on national television and said he allowed young boys who visited him to sleep in his bed with him. Nothing was ever proved that he had done anything to the boys, but the fact that he was willing to do this and say so on national TV overshadows the good that he had done for children prior to this confession. Then there was Pee Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) who had a shining career as a children’s television presenter in 1991 when he was arrested for indecent behavior in a public place. The news media went into a frenzy over the story and it marked the near-death of the character “Pee Wee Herman” and the actor who portrayed him. He never re-gained his status after this incident. The children of both of these men are living with the legacies and the mistakes of their fathers. Their fathers’ reputations and/or mistakes will always be a part of their memory and something that they will have to move beyond as they continue in life. Although these two individuals were in the public’s eye, there are many cases of things that are done privately within a home that may never be known publicly, but the impact on the children is just as harmful.
A noble and attractive character may be corrupted and destroyed by a little foolishness. An insignificant-looking fault or weakness may outweigh great gifts and attainment. In other words, the reputation that we so painstakingly created for ourselves could be destroyed easily by a simple act of stupidity. Many are those who spent years building and establishing their reputations only to make a mistake and that mistake erases what they had done previously and limits what they can do in their future. Let this not be us from this day forward. Let our reputation in the world be such that our children would not only walk through them, but walk in them as well. I want to close this morning with another look at Paul’s words to Timothy.
II. Timothy
In Second Timothy chapter one, Paul was encouraging Timothy to persevere. In doing so he reminded Timothy of the faith of his mother and grandmother. Here is what is recorded in 2 Timothy 1:2-7: “To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline."
Paul had constantly prayed for Timothy, his friend, fellow traveler and son in the faith. Paul mentioned Timothy’s tears, possibly from when they last saw each other after Paul was arrested and taken to Rome. At some point following their last time together, Timothy became a little discouraged. Paul had ordained Timothy for the ministry had sent him to be the pastor of the church at Ephesus. This church was having some hardships because some false teachers had entered their midst and began to teach false doctrines. Paul wrote to Timothy instructing him to handle the problem there. This could not have been an easy task for Timothy as he was a young man, and because of his age, some of the people in the Church did not necessarily respect him. Paul obviously heard about what Timothy was dealing with and knew that he needed to be encouraged. Paul wrote to Timothy to encourage him to persevere. He reminded him of the faith of his mother and grandmother. Why was this important? There was something that they had demonstrated immediately in their faith walk that stood out in Paul’s mind. Whatever it was, he knew that Timothy had seen it also. He was reminding Timothy of his mother and grandmother’s “spiritual reputations” as if to say “Timothy, you also have what they had.” Paul let Timothy know that he had everything within him to do the job at hand – he just needed to kindle afresh his gift. In other words – he needed to stir them up. If you’ve ever been around a wood burning fireplace, you know when the wood is almost burnt up you have small bits of woods left at the bottom. It appears as if the fire is almost out until you stir up those pieces. When you begin to move those pieces around, the flame returns and it’s ready for more wood to be added. Paul was telling Timothy to stir those coals – get the flame going again!
Paul knew that Timothy needed to be shaken and encouraged. But the real message that he was sending to Timothy was that of his family’s reputation of which he was a part. Timothy, in taking the pastoral leadership of that Church was developing his spiritual reputation. Because he was still growing, he needed some encouragement. Paul reached out to him and not only encouraged him, but reminded him of where he had come from. Because his mother and grandmother had spiritual reputations of having faith, Paul knew that it was also in Timothy. Although he was experiencing great opposition to the message he was delivering, Paul understood that he could get the job done. Timothy was walking through his mother’s and grandmother’s spiritual reputations while developing his own in this new role. Although his youth, his association with Paul, and his leadership had come under fire from believers and nonbelievers alike, Paul urged him to be bold. In verse seven Paul tells Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." These three things are what our spiritual reputations will be built upon. The power of God operating through us that gives us a boldness that we otherwise would not walk in; a love so strong that we can love with the love of Christ which draws versus repels those who do not want to be loved; and finally, discipline – the ability to draw a line in the sand that we will not cross. Understanding that in order for me to accomplish what God wants me to do I have to walk a certain way before Him and within this world. Our spiritual reputation should be one that tells our children – “God is important! Choose to serve Him first and foremost!!!
Conclusion
Someone said that the apple does not fall too far from the tree of its origin. Jesus said that you could tell the tree by the type of fruit that it bears. If we consider these statements in context of our children walking through our natural and spiritual reputations we discover that as we look at them we will see some of ourselves. I am not just talking physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Some of the things that are within us will also show up in our children. It’s not all about hereditary, but about what we are teaching them in life’s lessons. Our reputations teach our children something. In some cases it teaches them to work harder while it other cases it teaches them to do enough to get by. In some cases it teaches them to stand strong; in other cases it teaches them to not stand at all. We all have a reputation – both in the natural and in the spiritual realm.
I want to close with a few words about Timothy’s reputation. Timothy was by nature reserved and somewhat timid, based on how people interpret what Paul said to him. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, Timothy was the one who was always willing to go where Paul needed him to go. He could be trusted above many others for his pastoral concern and his gentle tact in dealing with awkward situations. For this reason Paul had sent him to strengthen the Corinthians (1 Cor. 16:10,11); to minister to the Thessalonian congregation (1 Thess. 3:2,3); and Timothy was his choice to send to the Church in Philippi when he (Paul) was in prison. Finally Paul sent Timothy as his representative to the Church at Ephesus. Timothy is said to have become the first bishop of Ephesus and was martyred almost thirty years after Paul when he protested the licentious festivities in honor of the Diana of the Ephesians.
Timothy established his spiritual reputation and walked in it for some thirty years after he received that letter from Paul. How long will you walk in yours?
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
