Back in the days of phone books, one young lady found herself being hounded by her City Council for unpaid parking fines. This was despite the fact that she didn’t even own a car. The Council officials assumed that the registered car owner was the same person as someone with the same name in the local phone book. No end of correspondence and phone calls moved the council. The more the innocent lady protested, the more penalties they imposed upon her. The problem was only resolved when she went on TV and told her story. Though the fines were cancelled, the council showed little care that they had sullied her good name.
Maybe when Solomon came to his senses he understood that he had made himself a stench in the nostrils of God and man. Thus, he says, “A good name is better than fine perfume” (Ecclesiastes 7:1).
When a person ponders their death, they would like to think that their name will be remembered with fondness. One Christian who achieved this was “Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36). When the apostle Peter arrived to raise her from the dead, he was greeted by some of the poor widows whom Tabitha had helped. They not only spoke of her good name, they showed him evidence of it—they were wearing it!
The apostle Paul commanded that an Elder in the church “must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap” (1 Timothy 3:7). It is a powerful witness for Elders and the church alike, when non-Christians consider them to be good and honest in their dealings with everyone.
We must never underestimate the value of our own good name:
“A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1).
John Staiger
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