“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all.” Proverbs 22:1-2
Growing up both my parents taught and more importantly MODELLED that your name is to be highly valued and protected. My mother was a highly respected Child Psychologist and my father considered a Lawyer who operated with utmost integrity (there is a tall order! Ha!). Even if it meant they were cheated, they did everything they could to honor their name and reputation. One motivation was the fact that they also were Christians and wanted to make sure that they were not “preaching” one thing and living another – a.k.a hypocrites. But it was more than that. They genuinely loved others and took literally the advice in Philippians 2:3, which states, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
