10/6 Keeping A Good Name

Ecclesiastes 7:1
“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.”

One of the greatest achievements you will ever achieve in life is that of keeping a good name. We all have a name given to us at birth, and it is our responsibility to add to the name that we have. In life, everything we do will add a tag to our name. Now the tag that we add to our name we want to be a good tag. Everything we do in life adds a tag to our name that will either make our name better or worse. Our goal should be to make our name a better name by adding tags to our name that our parents, children, God and those who know us would be proud of. Let me give you a few areas that will help you to keep a good name.

First, pay your bills. In the society in which we live, it seems that getting out of paying our bills has become the common thing. Before some shut me off, I understand that everybody comes across hard times. When those hard times come, people sometimes lose their houses or find it hard to pay bills they have acquired. Whether you find yourself in this situation or not, we still ought to be a people who pay their bills. If you find yourself getting behind on your bills, then work at paying them off. If you are not in this situation, be sure to keep your bills paid.

Secondly, to keep or build a good name, be honest. Honesty is still a good virtue! One thing that will destroy a good name quicker than anything else is being dishonest in your dealings with people. Be honest when you talk. Don't be an exaggerator of your position or situations. You may exaggerate to make yourself look better, but eventually people will find out. Be honest when you make business dealings with people. Being honest and up front may cost you some money, but it will give you a good name that can be trusted.

Thirdly, be consistent. Be consistent with your treatment of people, and be consistent in your life. Consistency always builds trust with those with whom you work and live. If you are consistent in how you live your life and how you treat people, people will know they can trust you. Living life consistently, as opposed to one way on one day and another way on a different day, will show people they can trust you because of your consistency.

Fourthly, live right. A good name is built by living a right life. Don't live in such a way that the possibility of a scandal can come out in the present or at your death. In the past few weeks of the writing of this devotional, there have been politicians whose illicit affairs have come out, sports stars whose death brings up questions and entertainers whose death uncovered more problems than what society knew about. You don't want this for yourself. You want your name to be a good name, and the best protection for having a good name is living right all the time.

Last of all, be hospitable to people. Building a good name can be obtained by being hospitable to people. In other words, treat people properly when you’re around them. For example, when you are around people, stop playing with your cell phone, and give people your attention. This is one of my pet peeves. It seems as if people can't carry on conversations without being interrupted by text messages or cell phones. Listen, you don't want to build a name that you can't lay your cell phone down. A good name can be obtained by being hospitable to people. Treat people right by being hospitable to them. Don't make your spouse have to work overtime to cover for your poor hospitality. Everyone should work at being hospitable to people.

When you were born, you were given a name that you had no choice about. At your death, you will have several names tagged on to your name that you had everything to do with. Live your life so that, at your death, you will have built a good name for yourself with God and man.