Matching The Reputation

Matching the Reputation

Almost anyone who has ever played the violin is familiar with the name, Stradivarius.  It has the reputation of being “top of the line” in violins.  Because there are so few of them available today, and because the price is so high, not many violinists have ever held one in their hands.

Last year a 1721 Stradivarius was put up for auction, and brought in sixteen million dollars.

Some months ago, a professional musical group decided to compare other well-known violins with the famous Stradivarius.  Twenty-one musicians were invited to the testing, blindfolded and each was given an instrument to play; no one knew who had the Stradivarius.  From these 21, five were picked as possible Stradivarius violins, judging them solely on tone quality.  When the blindfolds were removed, the group learned that only one violin was judged to be something other than the famous instrument—the real Stradivarius!!  It had carried the reputation of being the best, but when put to the test, it was unable to produce the proof. 

Revelation 3 tells us about the church of Sardis.  It had the reputation of being alive, but when put to the test, it was said of the church, “Thou hast a name (a reputation) that thou livest, and are dead.”  In reading that passage, we have to wonder if we too have a reputation of being kind, honest, generous and thoughtful, but under scrutiny, would fail the test.

The dictionary describes reputation as “The general estimation in which a person or a thing is held by others.”  As believers, we are to be Christ-like in all of our actions, so that others can see that we are “the real thing.”  If our reputations say one thing, but our actions say something else, how can we serve the Lord effectively?