PASTOR’S CORNER: A good reputation for Christ in 2026: Part 1

Editor’s Note: The following Pastor’s Corner was originally published on Feb. 22, 2025 in The Laurinburg Exchange and is a reprint.

During his college days at Florida State University, Charlie Ward was a student-athlete. In 1993, the young quarterback won the Heisman Trophy as the country’s best college football player, and he also starred on the basketball team. During a pregame talk one day, his basketball coach used foul language while addressing the players. He noticed that Charlie “wasn’t comfortable” and asked, “Charlie, what’s up?” Ward replied, “Coach, you know Coach Bowden doesn’t use that kind of language, and he gets us to play awfully hard.”

Charlie’s Christlike character allowed him to gently speak to his basketball coach about the issue. In fact, the coach later told a reporter, “It’s almost as if there was an angel looking at you when he talked to Charlie.” Writer Dave Branon said, “A good reputation with unbelievers and a faithful witness are hard to maintain. But at the same time, believers in Jesus can grow to be more like Him as He helps and guides us.”

My friends, this morning we are all called, as Christians in 2026, to have a good reputation among unbelievers and people in general. There is no better way to be a good witness for Christ. Light always shines brightest in the dark, and there is nothing better than having a good reputation. It will carry you places, open doors, give you favor among men and women, and take you places you never thought you would go.

Your words carry weight. People will listen to you when you have a good reputation. Folks will respect you when you have a good reputation. A good reputation will follow you for the rest of your life. It will help determine where you go in life, and at some point, you are going to need it. What we do, what we say, our conduct and our attitude make up our reputation. Day by day, week by week, as we travel through life, we are building a reputation among our family, friends, church and community, and we need to think about that now.

Community, somewhere in life something will happen to us through no fault of our own, and only a good reputation will save us in that moment. It will speak for us. We reap what we sow, and how we live, act, talk and carry ourselves will one day speak for us. We will look back over our lives and either feel great pride or deep regret over the reputation we have built.

Now, Christians, we need to have a good reputation for Christ. We cannot act any kind of way, do things we know are wrong, and still expect to have a good reputation. It will follow us everywhere we go. We cannot outrun it. It will precede us and arrive before we do. The question we must all ask ourselves is this: What does my family think about my reputation — my spouse, my children, my siblings? What do people who know me think about my reputation? What do my fellow church members think about my reputation? What about the people I work with or my neighbors? And most importantly, what does God think about my reputation? He sees us when nobody else does. These are questions we all need to ask ourselves.

None of us are perfect, and that is not the issue. The issue is what kind of reputation we are building for Christ. Our reputation influences others — those in our circle and those who know us. When you have a good reputation, people will listen to you, value your opinion and trust you. They may not like you, but they will respect you.

A bad reputation will follow us, too — like a shadow in the sunlight. You cannot get rid of it. Many people who have served time, gotten into trouble or closed doors of opportunity have suffered the consequences of a bad reputation. They cannot get loans, buy cars, secure good jobs or find people willing to speak up for them. Doors remain shut, trust is broken, and life takes a nosedive. When you die, nobody really cares. All of us should strive to have a good reputation.

One way to have a good reputation is to have integrity. The word “integrity” means “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change.” That should speak to every Christian. There are certain moral convictions we should never compromise. We ought to be honest and stand firm in our principles. When our name is mentioned, we do not want people to look uneasy or change their expression. Let all of us strive to have a good reputation.