A Good Name Is Better Than Riches

Have you ever thought about the status of your name? Would you say it was pretty good? Do you even care how those around you view your name?

The generation that I grew up in, it was a disgrace to forsake your last name. I don’t people even think about how other people view their name. And it shows.

What does your name imply about you? When people hear your name mention your name what do they immediately think about you?

In this context, a “good name” really speaks to your integrity. It’s about your reputation and the character you possess inside. It identifies who you are from a moral and ethical standpoint. It’s essentially what you are all about.

Proverbs 22:1 says, “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches…” That’s amazing when you think about it. Your good name is better than all the money in the world.

It certainly doesn’t fit with what culture thinks about having money. I could think of some really positive ways to use great riches. It would set my mind at ease knowing I’d never need to worry about money again.

But, when I think about it. I never have to worry about anything. God takes care of all my needs.

Why a Good Name is Better Than Riches?

• A good name provides stability

When you have a good name people trust you. That trust is a stabilizing factor in your relationship with them. They know what to expect from you and can lean on your decisions with absolute confidence knowing they were made with pure motives.

Those whose good name has been tarnished have a difficult time building trust and consequently maintaining friendship. Their motives will always be questioned as insincere. They are more or less looking out for themselves and taking little consideration for the needs of others.

How often do you question the motives of those who throw their great wealth around? Doesn’t it seem like there are often strings attached? That they have an ulterior motive for using their money?

I’m sure anyone of us can think of someone who uses their money in shady ways.

You don’t want to be in a situation or relationship where people don’t trust you. Trust helps relationships and friendships grow deeper. Your good name will go along way in making this happen.

• A good name is eternal

Riches are fleeting. They could be with us one minute and gone the next. We cannot take riches with us once we leave this world when we die,

A good name however is theoretically eternal. How many people do you remember positive things about when you hear their names? How many men and women in history are still being spoken of in a positive way?

How will your name be remembered and portrayed by family, friends, and co-workers once you’re gone? Will they focus on the value of your life or only remember that you cared about yourself and your wealth? One will be seen as value and well the other will be seen as selfish and not caring about anything or anyone.

Your character will have influence on those around you, especially children. The best parts of you can be handed down from generation to generation which makes your good name eternal.

• A good name brings loving favor

At the end of Proverbs 22:1, it says, “Loving favor is better than silver and gold.” When you seek a good name instead of riches, you are also to seek loving favor over riches. I can think of no better way to garner loving favor than to have a good name.

People will love you for having integrity. They appreciate you for your kindness, mercy, and attention to their needs that you show. They will stay by your side when you are attacked.

I know I would rather prefer to be loved. It’s one truism to which we can all relate to.

What riches could you live without, a life that doesn’t experience love would be devastating.

Riches are not evil and there is nothing wrong with having them. But a good name is better than riches, better than all the riches of the world. It provides more value in the present and the future.