Today we might say, "Her reputation preceded her."
Ruth was one of those women. An alien in Israel, she went straight to work to provide food for her mother-in-law and herself. She attracted the eye of the owner of the field who came to view the progress of the harvesting. "Whose young woman is that?" he asked his employees.
"She's worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter," was the reply. Her reputation of diligent and quiet work preceded her!
In this age of fast-paced living, front porches are more for beauty than utility. Take them or leave them.
But reputations still matter! And I'm not sure we are remembering that! Blogs, Facebook, texting and Twitter are all parts of the fast-paced life. They are the new "front porches"! Our reputations are being created on these social networks as surely as if we were gleaning in a field 3,000 years ago!
I think it's worth remembering and passing on this truth to our children and grandchildren (while remembering it ourselves). If you need some examples to support your argument, take a look at this post--one of many good ones, I'm sure.
Meanwhile, what's new on YOUR front porch?
And have you stopped to consider your reputation (what people think of first when they hear your name)?
I loved this post, Rebecca! Wonderful thoughts! I try to keep a nice front porch, though being outside of town we have few visitors. It gets dirty so fast with the fields and farm work going on! Your pictures look so nice.
ReplyDeleteLove this...thanks for sharing...so true. Your front porch is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love front porches...I guess I am a little old fashion and desire life to slow down in order to just rock on a front porch.
We have taught our kids that it is hard to make a good reputation and very easy to destroy it!
Very interesting Rebecca. Thanks for giving me a little something to consider. It's all well and good to profess not to care what others thinks but still the reputation WE create for ourselves that others see certainly matters!
ReplyDeleteThanks for another really great, thought-provoking post!
Rebecca, this is one of the most thought-provoking posts I've read anywhere in a long time. Using social networks for communicating can sometimes make us forget we are actually "talking" to real people, with real feelings and I know I've fallen into the trap of saying things in an email, for example, or on the blogs, that I would most likely not say if I were face-to-face with someone. Why is it that our guard is more easily let down? Thank you for this reminder...and I need to do some self-examination and perhaps clean up my front porch!
ReplyDeleteYour decorations are very pretty Rebecca! I have been thinking of changing mine lately too. Soon I suppose. What a lovely, thought filled post!
ReplyDeleteLove Di ♥
Lori, It IS hard to keep the porch clean with traffic or field and dusty roads working against us, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteJanette, we sit out on our porch once in awhile. And reputations ARE being built. Stuff posted on facebook, etc. follows our children and young adults who will apply for jobs, etc. in their near futures.
Colleen, The Bible tells us that reputations DO matter. It's good not to care what people think when we make a decision to follow Jesus, but NOT to care what people think has become a dubious badge of honor and an excuse to act rashly, randomly, or selfishly sometimes...
ReplyDeleteJacquelyn, This topic has really challenged me, too!
ReplyDeleteDi, I was going to wait until September but I had some time and the weather was conducive to working outside. I'm glad I was able to do what I did.
At some point in my "maturing" process (aka, getting old) I began thinking in terms of my witness & testimony. What do people think of the Lord by what they see in me, or in my life?
ReplyDeleteThis is a such a worthy topic, and an equally worthy meditation.
Blessings,
Kathleen
I think you're absolutely right Rebecca and I do agree with you. I suppose I meant more not caring when people spread gossip or judge you unfairly because you (and God of course) know what is true and right about yourself. You couldn't have put it better though, in many cases to say you don't care what others think is simply an excuse to act badly.
ReplyDeleteHave a great Sunday!
Blogs as our new "front porches"; a worthy truth to remember as we write our many words and live our lives out loud for all the world to read! I've learned some hard lessons along these lines. I'm learning to be a bit more guarded.
ReplyDeletepeace~elaine
This post is what I needed to read, to remind me to keep a good attitude at work, even if things aren't going the way I would want them to go, it's a reminder that I am a representative of our Lord Jesus Christ, and if I have frowny face and a bad attitude than what will I portray to people? Thank you for this post Rebecca, God bless you and I just can't stop listening to the beautiful music.
ReplyDeleteI like this front porch analogy! I totally agree. I think, too, that one could say that the front porch is a reflection of what's inside the house!
ReplyDeletePeople are watching us - whether we realize it or not. I do want to be His image bearer.
So true about the reputations on all the social networks...so different from when I was a young adult. My children have always commented on their Dad's good reputation and yet he didn't have all the social networks available to slip up on...it makes me aware of praying for my young adults more, because I don't think they realize the importance. And to be honest would I have wanted someone to be watching me that close when I was young and still learning!
ReplyDeleteJanette, I especially notice the language (crude and cursing) and some of the derogatory remarks about an employer or place of work. These remarks are traceable! The lack of judgment or restraint sometimes shown would also concern me as a future employer, etc.
ReplyDelete