The Resident Pastor of NKST (Universal Reformed Christian Church) Iortyer in Iortyer-classis, Rev. Dr. Akpen Leva has reminded Christians that an honourable standing and good name is more valuable than money, riches and expensive things like silver, gold and fine perfume, calling on them to make deliberate efforts to making good names their primary concern.
Rev. Leva who was the Chairman of Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) Benue State chapter and the current Synod Executive Committee Member One stated this Wednesday at the beginning of programme of the holy communion and sacrament week for the month of March at the church auditorium on the theme: “A good name”.
Reading from the book of Proverbs 22:1 where Solomon notes that it is better to be known for integrity and morality than to be wealthy and associated with sin and in the book of Ecclesiastes 7:1 that says a great name is better than precious ointment and the day in which a man dies and departs to the house of the grave with a good name and righteousness, is better than the day in which a wicked man is born into the world.
The former CAN Chair emphasized that a good name is tied to integrity. “Your reputation is an asset far more important than anything you can buy. So you should aspire to keep a good name anywhere you find yourself as a Christian rather than being obsessed over material possessions that can only give you temporal satisfaction or tarnish your image.
“If it were an ordinary person that make this revelation, someone might easily have thought it is poverty that prompted him to make such an irrelevant statement. But Solomon who made this assertion was a powerful millionaire with wisdom that we have not explored a bit, yet he sat down and thought over life and concluded that a good name is the highest legacy anyone can leave. In fact, the Bible is wholly concerned about good name and bad name which stands for Jesus and Satan.
“We live in the times where there is loss of regard for reputation because of the current economic situation in our country. Many Christians have suspended their Christian standing because they want to get the best things of life very fast and they are achieving these goals through corrupt means, reason why this reawakening call became necessary. The Bible is reminding us that every other accomplishment we have to our credit will pass away but good name is forever so we should never be tempted to compromise our names whatever the case may be”.
He continued that a good name is earned by obeying the commandments of God and adding value to the lives of others and again made reference to Luke 10:25-27 where Jesus tells us through the Samaritan’s example to care for the needs of others and Matthew 25:31-46 where He uses the parable of Sheep and Goats with the core message of making a difference in someone’s life.
“Be desperate and eager to make a good name because every other thing is vanity. But a good name is the only thing you will be remembered for. So, let us maintained our good names like Abraham, Michael, Joseph, Deborah, Daniel, Tabitha among many others who are still celebrated today because of the good things they have done. It is not too late to return to Jesus who is always on the standby to welcome us with open arms just the way He forgave Peter when he regretted his actions and returned to Him”.
