Author: Rhodes Davis

In Romans 12:21, Paul wrote to “not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to do good to those who treat us badly. This does not seem natural to us. When someone is mean to us, we often want to be mean back to them.

When act mean to people who are mean to us, we make the world a darker place. When we act good towards people who do not deserve it, we bring glory to God.

Jesus said that if we love our enemies, say good things about our enemies when they speak evil of us, do good to those who do not like us, and pray for those who are mean to you, that you prove yourself a child of God (Matthew 5:38-48).

I will freely admit that this is a very difficult thing to do every day. It makes us feel bad when others treat us unkindly. We must remember that a person who does this often has a small view of himself or herself. If we allow them to make us think less of ourselves, then they feel better about themselves.

There is no worse thing for a bully than to find someone who will act kind when bullied and does not care when the bully makes fun of them. When you do not allow their opinion to matter to you, you take away their power.

If you pray for the bully and help them when they are in need, it is hard for him to continue to have such a bad attitude towards you.

When I was in high school there was a boy who used to flick my ears and bother me in class. One day I turned around and, without whining or yelling, asked why he enjoyed it so much. He looked surprised; I guess no one had ever asked him. Embarrassed, he said, “I don’t know. I just do it.” But from that day on, he did not do it anymore and, in fact, became a friend!

Not everyone will become your friend but you do not have to answer their evil with evil. Jesus was good to those who were evil; we should be too.

In Ecclesiastes 7:1, Solomon said that a good name was “better than precious ointment (something that indicated wealth in those days).” Proverbs 22:1 says that a good name is better than great riches. Great riches can provide a life of ease and comfort but if we have to sacrifice our good name to get it, we pay too great a price for so little return.

A good name means that a person has a good reputation (they are known for doing the right thing). We must work hard to make sure that we have a good name and protect it from being a bad name.

Paul told Timothy that, although he was young, he must be a good example to other believers, 1 Timothy 4:12. Your parents, teachers, members of the church, and other good men and women will not look down on you when you live like Jesus did. When you do this you bring honor to Jesus’ name.

You honor Jesus by telling the truth, even if it will get you into trouble. You honor Jesus by loving others and trying to help them. If we lie, steal, or are mean to others, we do not bring honor to Jesus; we bring shame to His name.

We must always remember how quickly a good name can become a bad name. Wealthy people buy security systems, safes, and hire guards to protect their silver and gold; your reputation is more valuable than silver and gold; therefore, be careful to protect it from damage.

Remember how Solomon said that a good name was like precious ointment? He also said, in Ecclesiastes 10:1 that a bad name is like bad smelling perfume filled with flies.

When we have a good reputation it brings honor to us, our parents, and Jesus. When people know us for doing bad things it does not honor Christ, brings shame to our parents, and causes us to feel bad about ourselves.

If you feel that your name is considered good, keep up the good work and do not do things that would give you a bad name.

If you feel that your name is not known for good things, change now and do good things so that people will see the change in your life. Over time you might be able to rebuild a good name—do not give up.

Always remember that it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation yet only a few minutes to destroy it.

Author Unknown
There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it.

He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.”

But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally just smiled and said,” Well that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed the he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”