More than a good name
Reputation: the estimation in which a person or thing is held; a good name; a good standing based on merit, achievement, or reliability. Most of us go through life hoping to achieve a good reputation. Yet, it never ceases to amaze me how people go about making a name for themselves - sometimes doing more to tarnish their repute than to improve it! We only have to look at our star athletes, public figures, and media personalities to understand how the most inappropriate decisions can absolutely destroy one's good name. Sometimes it doesn't even matter how much "good" one has done - the one moment of folly and ill-chosen choices makes for a more lasting repute than all the good! Maybe this is why we are told to earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes - and in the eyes of the people. When our choices align with what God declares to be good - the actions which follow will almost certainly produce the results of "building up" one's reputatio...