Identity & Worth
Somebody has been saying things about me that are not true and people believe them. How much am I supposed to care about my reputation?
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”
Proverbs was collected for young men entering public life in a small society where a name travelled faster and further than money did. The saying does not dismiss reputation as vanity, it ranks a good name above wealth. That matters when you are being told your reputation should not bother you. Scripture takes this loss seriously, which means what you are feeling is not oversensitivity.
“Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:”
Peter wrote to Christians being slandered in their own towns, accused of crimes and disloyalty they had not committed. He points them to Jesus under false accusation and notes what he did not do, which was answer in kind, and what he did, which was hand the matter over to a judge who sees accurately. That is not passivity, it is moving the case to a different court.
A path forward
Decide once whether a correction is worth making. If it is, make it calmly to the people who matter, one time, and then stop defending yourself.
Say the names of those repeating it in prayer this week, asking for them rather than against them. It is difficult, and it keeps bitterness from setting.
Ask two people who know you well whether any part of the accusation contains a grain of truth you should deal with honestly.
Closing verse
“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”
- Psalm 37:5-6
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