Skip to main content

What's Your Reputation?


Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.  (Prov 31:23) 

            Have you ever known someone whose spouse or boy/girlfriend was a source of embarrassment? Or whose kids were? Have you ever gone into a store or restaurant and walked out wondering what sort of idiot hired the person who waited on you? Do you have any friends you'd really rather not introduce to the rest of your friends? I'm not going to pretend that I haven't been that social liability in the lives of some people I know. In this passage, Lemuel turns the spotlight from the noble wife to her husband: Lemuel himself. With the noble woman as his wife, he could go to work as a ruler without having to worry either his reputation or his wife's.
           This one is a challenge for me. My preference is to be invisible as a person, but the way that I express love to others tends to be through ideas that are often expressed....well, let's be charitable and say that they are expressed with more candor than sensitivity. That's not my only social flaw. This may be my biggest failure as a Proverbs 31 woman. There are some people who think they are better off without such a friend, relative, or significant other. There are some who consider this sort of person to be a treasure, even if they might not want to display that treasure too often.
            As bad as a lack of tact (to use my mother's description of my failing) may be, I suspect that association (family, friendship, etc.) with other sorts of people does more damage to one's career: thievery, drunkenness, assault, gossip, use of foul language, rage (especially public), bullying, cheating, gambling.... I wonder how many addictions and bad habits would be prevented if we cared about the reputation of those closest to us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more