Our reputation not only matters to God, but also to man.
“Not caring about what other people think of you is one of the best choices
you will ever make.”
I have seen that phrase on social media graphics, t-shirts, and even cheesy wall hangings. The idea is freeing in a sense and I get why it’s popular. Why should we care what people think when there will always be cruel and judgmental people out there who will find something bad to say about us?
While the world may feed us this lie, God’s word paints a different picture. Proverbs 22:1 tells us that “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.” Likewise, in 2 Corinthians 8:21, Paul tells us to “aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man.” Did you catch that? Our reputation not only matters to God, but also to man. This can be confusing for us as Christians. In the end, we will be judged by God and God alone. Why does it matter what man thinks at all?
It matters because we are Christ’s representatives here on earth. In fact, 2 Corinthians 5:20 calls us His “ambassadors.” That is a huge responsibility! As His ambassadors, we reflect Christ Himself. If we say that we don’t care what people think about us, we are really saying that we don’t care what people think about Christ. As Christians, that cannot be our mindset. Christ has given us the most incredible gift of salvation and Jesus calls us to share that gift with others. Whether we like it or not, the world will make judgments about God based upon our actions. Our reputation can either be a witness or a stumbling block to others on their journey to Christ.
So, let’s choose to care about our reputation, despite what the world says. Let’s choose to care because we care about Christ. Let’s ignore that phrase on graphics and t-shirts and declare instead that we do care about what other people think of us because following Jesus is the best choice anyone will ever make.
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