“Character refers to who you are. Reputation refers to who people think you are.”
~Emily P. Freeman
So often we move and act, aware of the eyes that seek us out . . . convinced that the eyes are ever present . . . “Girl, somebody is always watching . . . .” We overact or prepare to perform without even knowing for sure if the audience is present and attentive. This hyper awareness has the potential to have us spending money that we don’t have to impress people we don’t know. It can have us posting to blogs and social media sites our every move, especially the really triumphant ones, executive producers of commercials and vignettes about the great lives we live. So often this awareness makes us sensitive to the people we encounter daily, devoted family and adoring friends but it mutes and blurries the sovereign God and the conviction of His Holy Spirit. The presence of people, our busy world, its persistent distractions–both beautiful and destructive–have a way of confusing what’s most important and therefore making us actors on the world’s stage. At the end of the week, we look back and wonder at some of our decisions . . . or we fight our way through the week, each day a struggle like Rocky Balboa pulling that huge, heavy truck uphill, knee deep in snow, because the temptation brought on by the curtain call beckons us daily, and to keep focus, to keep true is harder than we realize. Those of us who are most caught up in the performance have made it to Broadway. People expect a version of ourselves that is not true. They can calculate what we’ll do next and they know where to expect us. Not because we are so predictable as much as it is because we have done such a good job at showing ourselves, making ourselves known. At the end of a life, these people look back and wonder, “What was it all for? Where has it all gone?” Being careful to develop your character according to the Father by the instructions given in His word can produce similar results (as it pertains to a sort of predictability), but the actions are Christ-driven, the purpose is Christ-centered and reward is so much greater. Living character-conscious takes care of reputation. You don’t have to throw yourself in front of the spotlight . . .somehow it finds its way to you, like gravity . . . like the wind, they obey their laws and everything else flows naturally to its sway.
I received an Emmy for my role in the show. Actually, I have a wall full. No condemnation if you were my co-star. Let’s pray for each other today, that we would look to the Master Director for our roles and lines. Love and grace, Frans. xxoo
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