"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" (Matt 16:13) As christians, Jesus is our ultimate example in everything. If Jesus cared about His reputation, I think we should too. Abraham Lincoln once said: "Character is a tree, and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." And since our world is ruled by our thoughts, it is reasonably obvious that what people think of you supersedes what you really are! Don't listen to "motivational" speeches telling you that what people say and think about you doesn't matter; because it does. Your position in life, the type of people that come around you, how much trust and responsibility that people entrust to you, even the regard and respect they accord you, the opportunities you meet in life are all based on what they think and know of you - your reputation!.
Apparently as Jesus began His earthly ministry, people began to form their opinions about Him. Some said He was Beelzebul - the king of demons (Matt 12:24), some said He was a sinner (Mark 2:16), and many other things. If you read the Bible carefully, you will notice that each time a question arose regarding His reputation and identity, Jesus never kept quiet. He always ensured that He set the records straight. He knew the power of public opinion, and how devastating one misinterpretation could be to a christian's life and ministry. He cared about His reputation and guarded it with every jealousy.
He taught His disciples the same. One day, to illustrate the importance of reputation, He called them together and asked them a question: "Who do people say I am". In other words, "What's the word on the street concerning me?" "What is my reputation?". From their answers, we learn more how many people perceived Jesus. Even though Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God; a lot of people didn't think of Him as that. They thought of Him as John the Baptist, Elijah, etc. Jesus was happy with that reputation because He didn't want anybody to know yet that He was the Christ. (Mark 8:30)
Friend, the purpose of this lesson is to bring our minds back to what the Bible says. Back to the biblical truth that God cares about our reputation. Our lives are the written gospel of Jesus Christ. Our actions speaks louder thank our voice. We must be careful how we live our lives so that we do not constitute a hindrance to the gospel. May the grace of God be released afresh in our lives to live right. Let us go back to careful living and holy lives. Let our lives once again be ordered and influenced by the Holy Spirit. It is only then that our influences can grow, and we will build a good reputation as people of God out of a pure heart and a loving relationship with both God and people.
God bless you!