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How should you handle your bad reputation?
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Do you remember the scandal involving Madonna and Alex Rodriguez? They were said to have had a ‘relationship’ but they denied it. When Alex and his wife split, it was reported that she ran to Lenny Kravitz (www.lennykravitz.com) to be with him in Paris. One of the saddest things I’d ever read was when Lenny was quoted to have said, ‘[And this happens] after I’ve worked so hard to clean up my reputation.’
St. Louis is not a small town, but somehow, you often run into somebody you know, or somebody that knows somebody you know. What if you made a mistake in your past, or worse yet, what if something was attributed to you that you never even did? Sure enough, all you’re doing is going to Walgreens one day and somebody you know stops you to say hello. During the conversation, the ‘incident’ is brought up and you're suddenly ashamed of yourself.
Recently on Fox2 News (www.myfoxSTL.com) Tim Ezell was giving a tour of their building and he went over to the news desk and he said that this was a place at which he’d probably never get to sit. He was joking, but in reality, your reputation could prevent you from achieving some things, but what is far more relevant and important is how you feel about yourself and whether or not YOU will let your past or your reputation hold you back.
As Christians, we should not be bound by our past, or be shaken and thrown off course by rumor and innuendo. Even if your reputation was indeed earned by you, and even if that ‘incident’ actually happened, the person you are today is not the person you were before. A Christian’s point of view can change from week to week, or day to day, as one gets more familiar with Christianity. As we continue to educate ourselves, changing views will be inevitable. In politics, they will call that ‘waffling’. If you never change your mind about anything, they’ll call that ‘close-minded’. We won’t pay attention to what ‘they’ say anymore.
If you are held back emotionally by your past, or if someone wants to pigeonhole you into being the person they think you should be, go get your bible. If you haven’t read it in a while, go back and read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read it and think about what Jesus went through and then think about what you’re going through and handle it the same way.
Wasn’t Jesus constantly bad-mouthed because He lived His life the way God wanted Him to? You think the rumors about you are bad? At one point they said Jesus had a demon inside of Him. Outlandish! They even found fault in Him when He healed people! Now how much worse can a situation get?
Whatever it is that you did in your past, whatever the rumors are that are circulating about you, no matter how bad it is, you must persevere and continue to live the way Christ would want you to live.
If you read The Acts Of The Apostles, you’ll notice that the Apostle Paul was not haunted by his past. If you recall, Paul was named Saul before his conversion. He was a Pharisee and he was enormously anti-Jesus. Sure, he brought up his past, and for certain, others brought it up, but when Paul spoke about it, it was for our education, not to beat himself up about it again. He didn’t allow his past (which was pretty bad) to hinder his future. He didn’t let what he did stand in the way of what he had to do. He knew that he was a new creature. Paul knew that he was the beloved child of God.
There is no reason whatsoever to give your past, or what others say about you, so much power. Give power to The Lover of your soul. Give power to the One who valued you so much, that He came to earth, wrapped in a human body, to pay for you and give you a way to enjoy eternal life with Him. If you give power to Him, you’ll believe what He says about you and not what others say. God loves you. That makes you special.
