Reputation

"What is in a name?"
Romeo & Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2

"But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed."
Othello Act 3, Scene 3

"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold."
Prov. 22:1

So it seems that when Jesus told us to pray, "Hallowed by Your name" he was showing a concern for God's reputation, honor and glory. But what is this thing "reputation?" Why is it important?

Information, not you.

Your "name", your reputation, is not you, yourself. It is information about you. It consists of how others think about you, what they say about you, and what they write about you. Nowadays it includes information stored in computer databases. One very important part of your reputation is information about you how you handle money and ebt which is compiled into your credit report.

Deeds, not words.

What really affects your reputation is not what you say about yourself, but what you do. If you tell me you are honest, that does not affect what I think about you near as much as knowing you have demonstrated honesty. Often I do not have direct experience with your choices, so I have to depend on others who do know you, who have observed your actions over time. That is why .we ask for references.  If I apply for a loan, the bank doesn't spend much time asking me if I plan to pay them back. Rather they consult my credit report, a record of my past actions regarding money. But reputation is not just a list of past actions. Just as a credit agency will sum up all my financial history into a single score, so we sum up all we know about a person's actions.and choices into a judgement regarding their character.

So when God wanted to show humanity what he is like, he did not just give us a list of his character qualities. Rather he entered into relationships with a number of people. They got to know him firsthand. They learned by word and experience what God is like, what he values, his ways and his heart. Then they wrote down, both a record of their dealings with this God, and their summary judgement of his character and nature.

Look at Psalms 105 and 106.  The psalmist recounts God's actions in bringing the Hebrews out of Egypt(105) and disciplining them afterwards (106), all to illustrate the judgement that:

"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psa. 106:1

This is a major reason why the Bible exists, not only to show us how to be saved or teach us the moral law, but to reveal God's character, to honor his name.

Not always true.

Because your reputation is not the same as yourself, it may be wrong. The ideas others have about you may not accurately describe your choices or your character. There is a neighbor who won't talk to you and keeps giving you dirty looks. You finally find out why. It turns out that he heard some old falsehood about you and has gotten the wrong idea regarding your character. Or the story was actually about someone else. Or maybe what they heard was true, but it was out of context and interpreted wrongly. You need to clear your name with them. Of course the opposite mistake can happen. Because of lies and missing information we think someone is a good, trustworthy person, when actually they are the opposite. A credit report may have wrong information on it, and it can be kind of a pain, though really important, to get it corrected.

All these same things can and do happen with God's reputation, his name. Lies are told about him, false judgements are made. Evil things others did are credited to him. Actions he did out of love, are considered cruel and vindictive.

The Family Name

Another source of reputation, besides our own actions, are the actions and choices of those associated with us. That is why children are warned against doing things that would sully the family name, and status-conscious teens are careful not to be seen hanging out with "uncool" kids. Think what could happen to your credit rating if you co-sign on a friend's loan application. Doing so would be lending them your name.

The same applies to God. The actions of God's people reflect back on his name, his reputation. As in Romans 2:23-24 "You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, 'The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.'" What we do in God's name reflects back on his name.

But not only do our actions reflect on God's name, but his name and reputation reflect back on us.

Ps. 69:7-9
For it is for your sake [Lord] that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

God and his people are joined together. The name, glory, and reputation of one affects the other. We will, someday, share totally in his glory, and we do share in it somewhat now. But now, just as God is dishonored by our actions, so we too share in the dishonor that God has among the nations.

As our reputation can be shared with someone else, so it can be taken, stolen. People can say they are doing something "in my name", when I never was told about it. When someone uses my credit history as their own, we call it identity theft. Jesus warned about people stealing his own reputation and authority when he said, "Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray." (Mark 13:6) if we do something "in Jesus' name" that he does not approve of, isn't this the real meaning of "taking the Lord's name in vain"?

So what?

Why do we care about reputation? Why all this effort to find out about people's and God's past actions? Because we want to predict the future. We need to know what to expect from others in our relationships with them. We may be loaning someone money, hiring an employee, entering into marriage, or trusting someone to change our life and save our eternal soul. In all these cases a person is promising us something. We need to know that they can fulfill those promises. But more Important than their ability, is their character. Not "can they do it", but "will they"? Are they honest and trustworthy? Do they place any value on keeping their word? Do they care about me, even love me? Or are they only looking out for their own interests, and even if so, are they honest about what those interests are?

Reputation matters because actions and choices reveal character, and character does not often change. In fact how changeable you are is an important part of your character. In Christian evangelism we are trying to convince people to put their faith in God. But do we show them that he is faithful? You can't trust God, especially with your soul, your life, if you do not think he is trustworthy,

I am believe that many people who reject a belief in God, do so because something in their experience convinced them that if he exists, then he is evil. Maybe it was a tragedy, a so-called "act of God". Maybe someone associated with God, a professed Christian or a whole church, hurt them or did something they judged as evil. And though, I guess, it is possible to intellectually affirm that an evil god exists, it makes a pretty horrible world-view, and it is impossible to trust, have faith, in such a god. It is far easier to deny his existence.

Next time I'll jump back to the Old Testament and we will see this same concern among God's people there.

(“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”)