Someone anonymous yet with a lot of insight once said, “Christians will do anything for Christ, except ruin their reputation.”
Reputation is always a great word to know. So, is lollapalooza. It’s a real word.You should use it in an every day phrase because it’ll be really fun. I promise. Like, “Man, that game was such a lollapalooza.” Or “I remember that one time in the mall when that lollapalooza attacked me!”
Anyways, I’ve been thinking a lot about my reputation and wondering why it’s always meant so much to me as a Christian. And ya know what? For years I’ve had this terrible weight on my shoulders to be a people pleaser, to have a “good reputation,” to hide my sins and my struggles so that I don’t look weak in church. Because who wants to be a weak leader? Who wants to be weak, period? And then it hit me like a lollapalooza! As long as I am pleasing the Lord then I don’t have anything to worry about. I’m afraid that often we confuse our need for a good reputation with good character. Your reputation is what others think about what kind of person you are, but character is the kind of person you actually are.
I started thinking on all this while sitting in a bar in Chaing Mai, Thailand. At first I thought it was conviction, but then I realized it was paranoia. I knew that I was there for ministry, to build relationships with the girls in the bars and tell them about Christ. But on the outside it doesn’t look good for a Christian to be spending so much time in the bar scene. And then my mind wonders off….what would so and so think if they saw me here right now? How would I explain this? What would they tell others? What do they think about me?…What does their sister think about me?…and on…and on…and on.
Lollapalooza!! Who cares? I know that God smiles upon me. This isn’t to excuse our consciences of making a brother stumble or recognizing when we ourselves could be tempted. It’s just to show that it’s more important to be a “Jesus pleaser” than a “people pleaser.”
When Jesus was walking around down here, I doubt he wasted time worrying about his reputation. He knew that the outstanding claims He made to be the Son of God would cause people to be skeptical. His reputation was spreading throughout the land and people were trying to decide whether or not they liked Him. Some did, but others wanted to kill Him! They mocked Him and said that if He was really the Son of God then He should proove it by coming down from the cross, but He didn’t (Matthew 27: 42-43). Jesus hung as if He didn’t care that the people thought He was weak, as if He cared only about His reputation in the eyes of His Father.
I ask you this one question. Who controls your reputation; other people or God? If it’s other people, then I challenge you to ruin your reputation.
Here are a few practical ways to do so:
Just ask God to take it. Ask Him to take away the concerns of what other people think of you and replace them with motives that are pleasing to Him alone.
If you messed up and others know it, then rest on the fact that God has forgiven you. They’re not perfect either. You don’t have to proove yourself worthy. Jesus gives you a clean slate.
If the opportunity presents itself for you to stand up for what you believe, then don’t live in fear of looking stupid by others. Everyone is trying to be the same. Few are actually brave enough to be different.
Live a life of discernment (aka listen to the Holy Spirit inside of you) about where to be and who with, but know that Jesus spent time with the outcasts.
When someone does you wrong, do them right. It’ll have them wondering.
Worship the way you want to worship. If you want to raise your hands, do it. If you don’t, don’t. If you want to dance, dance.
Be willing to say the hard things. If you know you need to call someone up into greatness then take love and encourage someone to be better. Someday they’ll thank you.
Don’t be a people pleaser all the time. It’s a bad habit. It’s okay to say no.
You don’t always have to be right. Remember that the all powerful God humbled himself down to earth as a man.
Share your weaknesses with others.You’ll find other Christians with the same struggles and together you can pull through it.
Be okay with the fact that you will be misunderstood. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be great is to be misunderstood.”
Popularity doesn’t matter so much when you drop the need to have acceptance from everyone around you.Your confidence comes from the Lord. Ladies, you don’t have to proove that you are beautiful because you know your beauty is rooted in Christ. Men, no matter what you’ve been told before, you are good enough, just as you are.
Warning: Self-doubt, lies, and regrets are what Satan will always try to slip back into your thoughts because He’s just afraid of the great things you will do once you ruin your reputation.
