In Acts 6, as the early church was growing and disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose among some of the Greek-speaking Jews that their widows were being neglected. Notice the apostles’ response:
“It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.” (6:1-3)
“Of good repute.” These men needed to have good reputations. They were expected to have already demonstrated character, humility, honesty, and maturity. If this opportunity were the first time that Stephen, Philip, or any of the others gave serious thought to their reputations, it would already be too late. The respective pasts of these men are what led them to be qualified for appointment in the present.
We obviously don’t live in the era of Acts 6, but each one of us–male and female, young and old–are building a reputation, brick-by-brick, day-by-day. Your reputation is being shaped by the ways you conduct yourself on social media: what you like, what you share, how you comment, and the tone you take with others. The threads of my reputation are slowly being woven together in the ways I treat the people around me, my priorities, punctuality, and whether I keep my promises.
Decision-by-decision, reaction-by-reaction, mood-by-mood, challenge-by-challenge, post-by-post, encounter-by-encounter, frustration-by-frustration, each one of us is building a reputation. You can’t purchase a “good” one on Amazon. I can’t download a “great” one from any App store. But who knows what future opportunities might be extended to us or doors be closed on us based upon the reputations we’re building right now?
Life is connected. Choices form steps, steps produce paths, paths lead to practices, practices reverberate into reputations, and it’s hard to put a price tag on an admirable one.
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold. (Prov 22:1)
Tomorrow’s men and women “of good repute” are making wise choices today. Character. Self-control. Humility. Patience. Honesty. Peace. Kindness. Faithfulness. Maturity.
Sow those seeds in this season and who knows what harvest time might eventually come, yielding the sort of produce that all the world’s silver and gold put together cannot purchase?