13/12/2014

REPUTATION

Good morning. Quite a few years ago I was sent on a management course and the delegate who was probably the youngest person there asked the course leader for some advice. “What should I do if one of my staff comes to me with a problem and I don’t have a ready answer?” The course leader said, “I think you should shut your office door, leave the building and go for a walk round the park for half an hour.” He said, "But what will my staff think?” The course leader assured him that - whatever his staff thought - he’d almost certainly have solved the problem by the time he got back to the office.

Deep down I knew the advice was good, but I don’t think there was anyone in the room who didn’t worry that they’d be misunderstood if they took it. Most of us care (perhaps more than we like to admit) about what others think of us and that’s probably why Jesus often singled out the status-conscious: the sort of person who gives generously to charity, but makes sure everybody knows it - and how much. He said that when you give to people in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. In other words: do it quietly - even secretly - and certainly don’t shout about it.

But even if we don’t shout about our virtues - whether it’s our generosity in giving or our competence at work - deep down most of us would quite like other people to notice. The crime writer, Dorothy L. Sayers, summed it up in her novel Gaudy Night: ‘However loudly we may assert our own unworthiness, few of us are really offended by hearing the assertion contradicted by a disinterested party.’

Perhaps that’s why it’s so impressive when we hear about those ‘secret philanthropists’: people who do good and genuinely don’t want other people to know. Maybe there are more of them around than we think. But then - who would know?

Lord, may we care less about what others think of us - and more about what is right. Less about our reputation in the world and more about who you want us to be. Amen.