Risking One’s Reputation

Jaisey Thomas - SBA

                It’s amazing to know how much we mortals are willing to bare ourselves to keep others from denuding our reputation. The world uses the tool of ‘reputation’ to measure success and make sense out of our lives. Not too long ago China’s auto industry was abuzz with the recalling of about 700,000 cars by a leading Japanese car manufacturing company, because of a potentially dangerous malfunction in the car’s electric window system. The Japanese car company made the decision to recall these cars, in spite of the prospect of losing ground in the fiercely competitive Chinese market; they were willing to make the financial compromise rather than tarnish the reputation they had painstakingly built through the years,  Regardless of religious inclinations, it is ingrained into our souls; the twin understanding that firstly -our choices and experiences are creating for us a persona that substantiates as a paradigm through which the world interprets us - and secondly: the haunting realization that this ‘persona’ or reputation is fragile enough to be protected, justified and almost viciously guarded. The brave and shrewd among us would go as far as to pay a price to ensure that authenticity.

 

This is undoubtedly evidence of the dignity of God’s image in which we are created for God too would do the same. The Bible has recorded several instances where God has defended Himself when questioned. We read of one such instance in 1 Kings chapter 20; here Benhadad, the Syrian king and his army make the strategic mistake of assuming that the God of the Hebrews is powerful only in the hills and so they decided to attack the Israelites in the plains. God’s omniscience was being questioned by an entire nation and God immediately stands up in His own defense, in spite of the fact that Israel at that time was being led by the unfaithful king Ahab. Consequently the Syrian army was defeated and thousands were slain in battle, just so God could prove the point that He is Sovereign. (1 Kings 20:22 - 30)

God is very concerned of how He is perceived – even by the unbeliever. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. (Proverbs 22:1)                                                                                  

What the world calls ‘reputation’, the believer terms - ‘testimony’. Concerning this Paul warns the young Timothy: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”(1 Timothy 4:12) People entrust themselves with us depending on the degree to which our actions reflect our affirmations. In the Church too things are no different, for the Scripture requires that the distribution of ministry be always preceded by ensuring credibility of testimony. Paul here tells Timothy “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy: 2)

 

A Painful Irony.

For a believer, ’Testimony’ is nothing but Integrity lived out. I once saw a serene and breathtaking picture of a vast expanse of endless sea, and saluting it on either sides were proud and powerful mountains, boasting their strength and glory to all who care to look, the blue sky full of mystery and hope looking down below, but what strikes at the attention of the beholder is that at about the centre of the picture is a small rock not bigger than a boulder,  peeking out from the waters – looking so out of place and yet with a personality of its own. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see the truth; to see a storm rising and the air still with apprehension; lighting strikes and the thunders roar, the waters answer back with vengeful fury , uprooting and crashing in on anything or anyone that would dare to cross its path. And then as if to see who has won the debate of heaven and earth; the waters calm down and sit back, lo and behold there stands the little rock -  at about the centre of the picture - unconvinced and unmoved. To me that little rock is what ‘Integrity’ is all about. It is the stubborn willingness to stand strong in deed and devotion, in the light of what you understand God to be. Integrity is so personal and intrinsic to one’s nature, thereby making it the quintessential attribute that God looks for in a person, before He can hand out His mandate for Ministry to that person. God say to the young king Solomon: ” if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised…”( 1 Kings 9:4,5)

 

But what makes the matter thorny in its existential manifestation is that a believer’s testimony or reputation is as much a matter of ‘perception’ as it is of integrity. ‘Reputation’ has both an intrinsic and an extrinsic nature; which put simply means that, as far as a believer is concerned his testimony is not only proof of God’s approval in his private life, but also an object that is licensed by public opinion; there is a private and a public side to it. Inevitably, in a believer’s life, having a truthful testimony or a right standing with God will often require looking like a loser to the public - which in this case also includes the Church. The question is, do we have the moral courage to risk our reputation before others if that is what it takes to please God.  It’s a matter of will and not of ability.

This is why we have the story of Job in the Bible. This man was initially the definition of the word ‘Big Shot’ to those in his social circle. He probably bagged the ‘Best Industrialist’ Award and ‘The Best Dad of the Year’ Award, not to mention the ‘I Wish I Was A Member of His Charity’ Award and of course the ‘I Wish He Remembers Me’ Award. Job – a man of considerable wealth and enviable social status, blessed by a prosperous and loving family. And then as if in a nightmare Job loses everything – everything he treasured – in one day. Overnight Job went from being the centre of everyone’s world to simply disappearing from everyone’s radar. (Job 1) In all this God and Satan were examining Job’s attitude and response. God who knows the thoughts of the mind and the intentions of the heart, testifies of Job saying “he holdeth fast his integrity” (Job 2:3) This is God’s response to Satan, here it should be understood that Job or Job’s wife or his friends are not given any tangible evidence of this divine approval at this stage, it is only after the set time of suffering is over, that God intervenes. There is no surer test of Integrity than the silence of God in the eye of the storm. Here Job has no one to share his suffering with; his wife tells him “Dost thou still retain thine integrity?”(Job 2:9), what she’s really telling him is “You still think God is as good as you believe Him to be?” And as if all this were not enough, in comes his friends and call him a hypocrite and a liar to his face. With all their philosophical and theological reasoning they see no redeeming value in Job. Even more crushing is the realization that God allowed to happen, that which Job pleaded to God never to allow (Job 3:25). Job’s theological understanding of God was that; God punishes the wicked for their wickedness and forgives, blesses and preserves the righteous – yet his personal experience was contradicting his understanding of God, it made him cry out to God:”I am full of confusion;”(Job 10:15) Job’s theology was tottering, but his faith was not. With Faith as big as a mustard seed Job declares: ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:”(Job 13:15), but Job - being a man of integrity doesn’t stop there, he brazenly asserts: ‘but I will [argue my case] before him’ (Job 13:15b) Job was a man of testimony, a man with Integrity in the eyes of God, yet in public perception he was like a politician being tried on corruption charges. Job – even in his confusion – had wisdom enough to risk the affection of his wife (which he badly needed at that time), and the friendship of the only friends he had, and chose rather to believe that God has all along , been doing not just great things for him ,but in him as well. Job did not sacrifice his Integrity at the altar of Your Favour. Job knew that it was too big a price for too small a bargain.

 

            It’s a painful discipline to exercise, because it’s so alien and humiliating to basic human nature. Superficially it seems to be so illogical and irrational a demand, one that we easily excuse ourselves from doing, yet deep inside we can’t shake off the feeling of how cowardly and cheap and small we are in our own eyes. Time and time again God call us to take this risk, to help us come closer to a fuller realization of God’s will in our lives, to anchor our trust in Him, to teach us not to be afraid of the crowd – even if it is the right crowd.

 

Looking like a Fool

            Joseph was a man who always had a genuine concern for the people who defined his world. He loved his dad, he was the precious baby to his mother, he had a practical concern for his ‘jealous’ brothers, he was willing to listen to the problems of those who were of a higher social status (Genesis 40:6) and he was able to not just forgive those who hurt him, but turn around and do them good. Joseph loved to help and please people, yet he could draw a neat well defined line when it came to risking people’s favour for God’s. Joseph risked his favour with Potiphar. Here we must understand that the Hebrews were untouchables to the Egyptians (Genesis 46:34), yet Potiphar saw something rare in the young Hebrew boy – Integrity, and on that peg he was willing to place all the tangible wealth he possessed, Potiphar was willing to give the boy a chance, and moreover even when matters got worse Potiphar saw it fit to place Joseph in the King’s prison, (Genesis 39:20) when he could easily have slain the slave who was charged with such a grave offense; undoubtedly Potiphar was a good, kind and generous master who actually favored Joseph more than his wife. He was the only person who made Joseph feel valued and important at that point of time in his life, yet Joseph was able to risk the only friend and the only job he had because that is what it took to be in God’s favour. Incidentally God’s favour is something you can’t prove (Job learned that the hard way!), nor can you make a living out of it. Joseph’s colleagues and even well meaning believers would have told him how crass and foolish and irresponsible he was, that he should have fasted for three days and prayerfully submitted the issue to Potiphar, that he should have asked for an assistant long ago and have the assistant always with him, that he should wear a pullover and not a coat…..  In spite of honouring God with his conscience: in public perception Joseph was rewarded with humiliation.

            In personal life, social relationships and Ministry God looks for those who can take decisions at the cost of their own personal agendas, so that one day He  will hand over to them the reins of a resource that will bring life and  healing to many. As parents are we willing to admit our failures to our children, as wives are we willing to admit that we are impoverished, as teenagers are we willing to admit that we are as much in error as those we judge, as those in ministry are we willing to hold ourselves as accountable as we hold others, as a church are willing to identify with those who have strayed, as intercessors are we willing to shoulder the shame of those we intercede for? Rather than play the convenient role of spiritual politicians, are we willing to be God’s powerbroker’s on His terms.