“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
Growing Dominion, Part 133
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold” (Prov. 22:1).
Proverbs is filled with hypothetical alternatives. It is better to have this than to have that. It is better to be here than to be there. This passage is one of them, and it tells us that it is better to have a good name, a good reputation, than to have a great deal of wealth. A lot of money, in other words, is less valuable than a good name. A good name is like an oak tree taking generations to grow, but which can be lost in the course of an afternoon to a man with a chain saw. A good name is one of the greatest blessings a man can have. But this is not the only comparison we find in Scripture. There are times when it is important—for the sake of righteousness—to give up the reputation of righteousness. It is better to be righteous than to simply be thought righteous. Christ was perfect, but in some quarters He was a glutton and drunkard.
But when God calls a man to make this sacrifice, he needs to know what he is giving up. This passage tells us that a man willing to surrender his good reputation for the sake of doing right knows that he is giving up something that is worth more than a fortune.