A Good Name
A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
Proverbs 22:1
In the late 1800s, the Louisiana State Lottery rose to
prominence, as well as to infamy, as it was plagued with scandal after scandal
when rumours and evidence surfaced that its leaders were illegally pocketing
money.
So in an attempt to boost their credibility, the
managers of the lottery approached an aging General Robert E. Lee to see if he
would provide an endorsement. They promised that if he did, he would become
rich.
In response, Lee straightened up and shouted,
“Gentlemen, I lost my home in the war. I lost my fortune in the war. I lost
everything except my name. My name is not for sale, and if you fellows don’t
get out of here, I’ll break my crutch over your heads!”
What is the integrity of your name worth? As we
look at leaders who’ve had major moral failures, their downfalls didn’t come
about with one bad decision. Instead, it was small decisions over time,
exchanging their integrity for something else, that ultimately brought them
down.
Don’t trade in your good name. Instead, maintain
your integrity in the small decisions each day. When you do, your good name
will gain you a platform for sharing Christ with others!
Prayer Challenge
Pray that God will help you make the daily
decisions that will maintain your integrity and give you a platform to share Christ
with others.
Questions for Thought
When you think about someone with a good name or
reputation, who comes to mind?
What is it about that person that causes them to
have a good name?