Discipleship

You’re Building Tomorrow’s Reputation Today

In Acts 6, a complaint arose among some of the Greek-speaking Jews because 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.” (Acts 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 past of these men was what had led them to be qualified to serve 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 how you conduct yourself on social media: what you share, how you comment, what you like.

My reputation is being molded based upon how I treat the people around me, my priorities, punctuality, and whether I keep my promises.

Decision-by-decision, reaction-by-reaction, mood-by-mood, post-by-post, encounter-by-encounter, each one of us is building a reputation. You can’t purchase a “good” one on Amazon. I can’t download a “great” one in any App store. But who knows what future opportunities could be extended to us or doors be closed on us, based upon the reputation we’ve built?

Life is connected. Steps form paths and paths produce reputations. As much as depends on us, let’s be men and women “of good repute” today.

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