Character vs. Reputation

A few weeks ago I had a pretty interesting day that inspired me to write this blog. It is funny the title of my blog was the actual title of one of my devotional readings a few mornings ago. Then I get to work and in the middle of the day I come across this "numbers" game which is basically ppl inboxing you a number and you telling them what you think/feel/etc . . . about them lol. So thinking about it I thought basically this game is putting to the test what type of reputation this person may or may not have. While looking at my own "numbered" answers my mind wandered to actually writing a blog on the subject!

Now that the lonnnnngggg intro is out of the way lets get down to business. Now what exactly is your character and/or reputation. Well the way I understand it, your reputation is the way people/world see/view you and your character who you really are (personality, habits and the like). This analysis is important because sometimes your character and your reputation can be two completely different entities that people try really hard to keep intact. The reason why they want to keep these entities in tact is because it is a fundamental part of who that person is. Now why is this part of your person so important, well this is because your character and/or reputation can tell a person about you before you even have a chance to meet them. With your character and/or reputation you can leave an impression on someone even though you never shook their hand. Now I am not saying that this is good but it comes along with building a certain character/reputation.

These two factors affects several areas of a person's life such as (and these are just a few examples): getting a job/into a school (mostly jobs ask for references asking past employers, friends and family what type of person they will be hiring); in Court (reputation evidence in a criminal or civil cases are seen as helpful, while character/habit evidence is taken as weighty evidence); you getting a date (friend's images of you) etc . . . We have to come to understand that our reputation may carry us to a certain place but our character keeps us there!

As people we have to understand that we have to equate our character and reputation so that there is no difference (and if any very minimal). This way we dont have to live secret lives in the back rooms of our souls, while proclaiming a false pretense to the world.

I will leave you with a few quotes that shows the depth of this topic:

“Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.” - William Shakespeare

“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it” - Benjamin Franklin

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” - Abraham Lincoln

And finally;
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” - Unknown

Thanks for listening to my ramblings and enjoy the rest of your day!!! Immmmm bacccckkkkk LOL!