When popularity is poisonous

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. Luke 6:26

“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation, I have lost the immortal part of myself – and what remains is bestial…”

Poor Cassio! – you can’t help feeling sorry for him. He is Othello’s henchman, “an honourable lieutenant”, in Shakespeare’s play. But in a one-off lapse he allows himself to get involved in a drunken brawl, and Othello dismisses him on the spot. And so he cries out in remorse and self-pity: “I have lost my reputation!”

You can define reputation very simply as what other people think of you. Are you popular? respected? admired? Or are you the kind of person others shake their heads over? – “he really is his own worst enemy…”, “she doesn’t learn, does she?”

I’ve picked out two Bible verses about reputation which, on the face of it, flatly contradict one another.

On the one hand, Proverbs 22:1 tells us that “a good name is more desirable than great riches”. That’s not going quite as far, perhaps, as describing it with Cassio as “the immortal part of myself”, but it’s pretty extreme all the same.

Anyone who has “blotted their copybook”, especially in a very public way, will know exactly what Proverbs means. Who hasn’t, at some point or other in their life, thought “If only I could turn the clock back!”

That verse in Proverbs is borne out in various parts of the Bible. Paul, for example, advising Timothy about the choice of church leaders, says that they must “have a good reputation with outsiders” (1 Timothy 3:7). Luke tells us that the first followers of Jesus “enjoyed the favour of all the people” (Acts 2:47). A good reputation, it seems obvious, is something to be highly valued. And anyway, who doesn’t like being liked?

But then we find the words of Jesus in Luke 6:26: “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you”. As if to say: “There’s something very wrong with you when you’re universally popular! – oh yes, having a good reputation may be very pleasant, but it really isn’t a good sign at all”.

A flat contradiction? What’s going on?

Luke 6:20-26 gives us Luke’s version of what in Matthew we often call “the beatitudes”. It’s much shorter than in Matthew, but most striking is that as well as the familiar “blesseds” – “blessed are the pure in heart” etc – Luke also gives a list of four “woes”. These woes have the effect of turning completely upside down the way we naturally think about life: “woe to you who are rich(!)… who are well fed(!) now… who laugh(!) now…”. And then “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you”.

It’s as if Jesus is saying, “You really have got to start thinking in a completely new way. You must learn to turn your values, your priorities, on their heads. The kingdom of God just doesn’t operate in the same way as this fallen world. Get used to it!…”

So… does the Luke verse contradict the Proverbs verse? No, not at all.

As always when we read the Bible it’s important to read the whole context of a passage, not just snatching snippets from here, there and everywhere and setting them up as the final word.

The book of Proverbs is largely about character, and how important it is to build integrity, honesty, humility, compassion and all the other Christlike graces. It’s in this sense that “a good name is more desirable than great riches”. If every Christian was known to the outside world for these virtues wouldn’t our witness be truly powerful? Peter puts it perfectly: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God… “ (1 Peter 2:12).

But that kind of good reputation is exactly what Jesus isn’t talking about in Luke 6. No: after telling his followers that it’s not a good sign when “everyone speaks well of you”, he goes on: “…for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets”.

Ah! That’s the clue. The thing about the false prophets is that they earned their popularity by telling people what they wanted to hear, not by telling them the truth. And there’s plenty of that kind of thing in the Old Testament – Jeremiah 6:14 is a perfect example: “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace’, they say, when there is no peace”.

That’s where the challenge lies for us… In our natural desire to be liked, how easy it is to trim our principles and sacrifice our integrity – to go with the flow, as they say. Like those false prophets we buy popularity by speaking when we would do better to keep quiet – and by keeping quiet when we ought to speak out.

Anyone feeling a bit guilty? I certainly am. If so, I think Jesus’ words  suggest a very simple prayer…

O Lord, please help me to let my light shine before other people, so that while it’s my good deeds that they see, it’s your words that they hear and it’s you, my Father in heaven, whom they truly see, and to whom they give glory. Amen!