Reputation

I struggled with things through out my life. With my racing, I often struggle with how my race car looks, how it runs and how fast it is. Pride gets in the way and I want it to be faster, I want to spend money building a bigger motor, and making more horse power just to be able to say that it is faster. But, the reality of the matter is in the type of drag racing I do it doesn't matter how fast your car is, it's how well you know the car and how well you drive. This is a great point to ponder as I think of reputation and how it affects us.
ANother thing is every time I have someone knew find out that I drag race they usually ask 2 questions, where and how often do you win? Neither of those questions involve how fast the car is or what it looks like.
It's the same way with our lives. People are looking at our performance and our reputation/integrity. Very few people will be concerned with how much money we have, how powerful we are at work, and how big of a portfolio we have(I don't even have one). People judge us and make decisions about us based on what, our name. When the name Jeff Gatlin comes up in conversation(which I am sure is a rarity) people will immediately talk about me in terms of my actions and my reputation. They won't think much about how poor I am, how I look or maybe even how I talk or act. They'll look past that and immediately I am known by my reputation. In Proverbs the 22nd chapter this is addressed right off the bat in the first verses.

Proverbs 22:1
1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.2 Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.3 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. 4 Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor.

A good name is more desirable than great riches, your reputation and your integrity being intact are far greater than any amount of money you may gain by tarnishing them. THere is nothing in this world worth trashing your name and your reputation for, nothing. If we are seeking true wealth we need to look at verse 4 and understand that it comes from humility and more importantly fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord comes from being humbled by what He has done in your life, and for you in advance. Understanding grace brings about humility, which brings about true wealth, which ends in a good reputation which is the greatest thing you can possess in life. So guard your name, create for yourself a great reputation and all the other things will slowly fall into place.
THanks for reading, I may not be able to blog over the next few days as I will be in Orlando on business. So if not, have a great week and weekend and hope to see you soon!