Dead flies stink!

August 30, 2019 – Click here to listen

When I was a young man a buddy and I were staying in a little dump next to a nice motel. Occasionally we’d sneak over there, pretend to be guests, and lounge around their swimming pool. One day we spied a couple of good looking babes sitting on lounge chairs and we walked over and asked them if they’d mind if we joined them.

They smiled pretty smiles and said they’d be delighted if we did. Things were looking up, (or so I thought). I asked them where they were from and they said Columbus Mississippi. I remarked that it was a small world and that I’d gone to two different high schools there. I asked them what their names were; they answered and I didn’t recognize either, and then they asked for ours.

My buddy told them his and they smiled, but when I told them my name, they immediately looked at each other and without so much as offering another word, grabbed their towels, handbags, and suntan oil and left in a huff without even a glance back our way.

My buddy laughed hysterically and remarked, “That must be some kind of reputation you’ve earned over there in Columbus Bob”.

It didn’t really bother me at the time and in fact I laughed too, but I couldn’t help but wonder what those old gals had heard about me. Back in those days more than one person referred to me as being “Wild as a March Hare”; I assumed that is what scared them off. (I always wondered what that term meant and finally took the time to look it up. Apparently the breeding season of rabbits begins in early spring, usually in March. The male rabbits, (called hares), fight like boxers, chase each other about wildly biting and kicking, and chasing females frantically. Apparently these antics spawned the expression.

Hmmm . . .

Reputation is something that everyone has and no one escapes. It’s something that sums up who we really are, (regardless of whether or not we want it). We can’t buy reputation; we can’t deny it; we can’t inherit it; and we can’t change it without changing ourselves.

The dictionary defines reputation as “A high opinion that people hold of someone derived from a favorable public opinion or esteem, and the generally accepted estimation of somebody in a good or bad sense”

You might say I have no control over my reputation, because it’s been tarnished by liars. Not to worry – We don’t have to protect a good name from those who love to gossip their hate filled lies. They build their own reputation and no one believes them when they speak ill of those of good reputation.

I’ve often said that “I don’t care what people think of me.” While it’s true that I care most about what God thinks of me and am less concerned about the opinions of those who don’t know my heart, my “care-less” attitude cannot be backed up by Scripture. Proverbs 22:1 states: A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.

So why did God deem reputation to be so important that He put it in this context?

Hmmm . . . I’d hate to think that my reputation was such that no one would believe me when I speak. After all, my entire purpose in life is to preach the Gospel to every nation. How effective could I be if I was not believable?

Some lament the fact that they cannot be perfect all of the time and occasionally make mistakes and sometimes sin, (even big sins). While there is no question that such actions can damage our reputations, we should keep in mind that our reputation is built on who we are, not necessarily by a one-time act or mistake, but who we are consistently. The hypocrites and self-righteous among us will never see that and will pounce on every minute imperfection, but they have their own reputations which destroys their credibility.

Don’t be too hard on yourselves, the instant you made that mistake and committed that sin you officially became a member of the human race; a condition that is flawed and soiled with imperfection. If we could be perfect, Jesus Christ would not have had to sacrifice His life in order to forgive our many sins.

With that said we must keep in mind that reputation will follow us far beyond every victory we win in life, and the sooner we change and build a good reputation, the more lasting the good reputation will be. Obviously we should try our utmost to do what God would have us to do. When we mess up, we ask God for forgiveness, try to walk the straight and narrow, and move on knowing that our sins will stink all of the way to high heaven, and not just here among our peers. Now we don’t want to go stinking up heaven with dead flies do we?

Eccl. 10:1

As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.