Reputations

I was always taught that my most valuable asset was my reputation. In Bible College and beyond, they always emphasized how important that everything I do be done in light my reputation. One problem I discovered in this quest for a "good" reputation - it is people and what they choose to see. We have this unique filters that permit us to self deceive and believe exactly what fits our particular view of a situation or of someone. What quickly happened in my life is that one person would praise me for a specific activity in my life and another would demonize me. What this taught me is that I need to be careful about my assumptions and how I approach people and situations. Keeping what we often call an open mind is difficult, especially if there has been negative history with a particular group or person. What I have concluded at this stage of life is that yes reputations are important, but they are fragile. If our life quest is to look good to all people around us, then we will quickly go insane. There is only one place to find a true assessment on who we are and our potential - that is in the presence of Jesus.