Maintaining a Good Reputation

2 Kings 22:3-7 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.” With so much disinformation and misinformation on social media and news radio and television today, it is important to know the reputation of the persons you are following. Too many of us have trusted in people’s messages, only to discover that they were not honest in their dealings; instead, there is malicious intent to deceive.King Josiah was known for doing what was right in God’s sight, following in the footsteps of his ancestor, King David. He attempted to return the Judahites to trusting and believing in God, starting with repairing the temple in Jerusalem. It took large sums of money to pay to have the work completed. King Josiah authorized Hilkiah, the high priest (also believed to be the prophet Jeremiah’s father), to entrust the money to men the king knew to be honest in their dealings.

When we seek to live a life that is acceptable to God, our reputation must be one in which people see us as honest, honorable, with integrity and decency. It is important to the work of God’s Kingdom that His people are viewed in a good light, for dishonest Christians have for centuries hurt the work of the Lord and brought dishonor to the Church. It is the same today. So, let us be honest in our dealings, never committing deceitful acts, spreading disinformation and misinformation, and then cloaking our perfidy in ways that make it seem we are so righteous. Galatians 6:7 states, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The men King Josiah trusted sowed decency and honesty, and they reaped a good reputation. Maintaining an honest reputation is good for us and for the Lord God, whom we must serve with clear consciences and good hearts.

Amen.