A new skirt for a night on the town—$100.
Sneaking out of school early—free (for now).
A few innocent drinks with your mates down at the pub—$40.
Some extra dollars on the credit card—$-endless.

A good reputation—absolutely priceless.

Returning home from a trip overseas last year, I found the backlash from a horrible incident in Melbourne (Australia) still occurring. It's not every day that there is a shooting in my own city. A girl had just left a club and was being assaulted when two strangers went to help. Both good Samaritans and the young lady were shot. One of them died, a young father of two. It was devastating. But that's not where the story ends.

After the incident it came out that one of Melbourne's elite football stars was linked to the alleged shooter! Apparently a week before the shooting, after a game of football and a night out on the town drinking and clubbing with his mates, he somehow managed to be partying with the alleged shooter and ended up back at the biker's clubhouse—not a very safe place to be!

That night the alleged shooter apparently fired shots at police. Then a week later he shot the girl and the two good Samaritans trying to help her. Not the kind of person an elite sportsperson would want to be linked with!

The football star came out publicly and had to apologize and say how he was sorry that he had embarrassed himself, his family and his football club.

This football player has potentially done more than just embarrass himself. One silly decision led him to a crowd he probably wouldn't usually hang with. He ended up connected with a very bad crowd and being interviewed by police. That's not something you can wipe away from people's memories easily. He may be embarrassed, but his reputation is now tainted.

We all have to guard our own reputations. Reputation is described as something that is said or believed about people, their character or the name they make for themselves. We do not want others thinking false things about us or judging us for the rest of our lives based on a silly action or decision.

Whether we stupidly hang around with the wrong crowd, even just once, and something bad happens or we get ourselves in a bad financial situation and end up with a bad credit rating, everything we do has an impact on our reputation.

How does God value a good reputation?

• "A good name is better than precious ointment…" (Ecclesiastes 7:1).
• "A good name is more desirable than great riches…" (Proverbs 22:1, New International Version).

To think more about your reputation's value, check out "You've Got to Stand for Something."

The decisions we make, the actions we take, who we hang out with and even what we wear will have an impact on what people think about us and our character and, ultimately, what kind of reputation we have.

So before you do anything—think!

Reputation—everyone has one. A good reputation—priceless! VT