Today’s Reading, Proverbs 22-23
Focal Scripture: Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is to be chosen over great wealth; favor is better than silver and gold.”
I know I am not terribly old but I am at the age where friends and family are starting to pass away at a higher percentage. Whether from age, disease or accident their time has come and they are meeting Jesus. When this happens I think about my interactions with them and how it impacted me for good or bad. When I think about their name I have either good thoughts or negative thoughts. Then I think about what would people think about me when I am gone. Then it always hits me that what do people think about me when they hear my name while I am alive.
In today’s reading Solomon tells us that a good name is to be desired over wealth. That favor is better than silver or gold. If we are honest we know this to be true in our lives. Those who we trust and have good names, get much more from us than those who have hurt us or have a bad reputation. A persons name carries weight in life and in death. They will be remembered and it will either be positive or negative.
To prove this point I will give you two names, Hitler and Lincoln. Immediately, you have thoughts about them both. Their name invokes a reaction and thoughts. It makes you have an opinion and it leads conversations. You know what they did and what they believed. Their names are famous and powerful. One for good reasons the other for terrible.
So the questions that come to mind today are these: how will your name and my name be remembered? How will family and friends tell stories about us now and when we die? How will strangers explain who we are to those we have never met before? Our names follow our reputation either positively or negatively.
I challenge you today to live like Jesus so much that when your name is brought up it points others to Christ. You shouldn’t be known for your job or your titles alone. You shouldn’t be known for your negative treatment of others. Our names should point people to Jesus in a powerful way. Our names matter in life and in death.
I hope to be remembered by family and friends as a person who loves Jesus, both now and when I am dead. I hope strangers and acquaintances ask what made me different. My name tells a story and so does yours. Chase a good name not money. It matters more than you know.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Proverbs 24-26
