Verse of the Day for August 22

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. Chosen. A good name is not something you are simply born with or lose forever. It is chosen, again and again, in each decision.

That matters if you are starting over. Perhaps a business failed, or a marriage ended, or you did something that people still talk about. You may feel that your name is gone.

Proverbs does not pretend reputation is easy to rebuild. But it does say the name is worth more than what you might be tempted to grab instead, great riches, silver and gold. And it is made of choices. Which means today's choices count.

The second verse is quietly radical: The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. In the market, the church, the bus queue, they stand side by side. Neither the riches you lost nor the riches someone else has define who you are before God. He made you both.

Beginning again rarely starts with a big announcement. It starts with paying back a small debt, keeping a small promise, arriving on time at the new job. Each one adds a letter to the name you are choosing. Write one today.

Reputation is rebuilt the same way it is built, one honest choice at a time.

The God who made the rich and the poor has not finished with you.