What's your opinion of her?

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” Proverbs 22:1

A long time friend sent me this scripture, yesterday. Along with a passage and I want to share an exerpt from it.

When you lose your wealth, you can recover if you still have your name and reputation. If you lose your popularity because you stood for that which is right, you can still be successful in life. If you lose your health, you still have a chance to fully recover. On the other hand, if you lose your good name, you’ve suffered a loss from which you may never recover.

I've come to realize, over the years, how important your reputation is and the decisions you make can either boost your reputation or tarnish it, forever. Granted, no one is perfect and we all make mistakes, but first impressions are lasting impressions. The impression you leave upon someone contributes to your reputation. The activities you engage yourself in contribute to your reputation. All it takes is one bad decision, to cancel out the million other great things you've accomplished and overcome in your life.

Passing judgement isn't what were sent here to do, but in the world, today, it's acceptable to certain degrees. You don't want a drug addict watching your child while you go out for the evening, do you? You want to work for a boss who is reliable, provides you a steady paycheck on time, and also a safe environment to perform your duties. (with the exception of people who volunteer/choose to do risky jobs i.e some military jobs, bomb squads, some lab research, squat teams, etc)

Possessing certain qualities is a step in the right direction, but executing the qualities you possess to achieve your goals through good decision making leads you to success. Good decision making is the key phrase in my last statement. Your good decisions develop a good reputation. Bad decisions tarnish your reputation.

Anyone who has followed my blogs for the past few days, can see I made a bad decision. I've come forward with my mistake and I've learned from it. I asked for forgiveness. Which is the next step in freeing yourself from the guilt and pain you've caused yourself and any other party involved.

Some people do bad things and will never admit their involvement or be accountable for their mistake. Some people do bad things and openly proclaim their involvement without remorse.

Today, I'm freeing myself from the guilt of my bad decision. I asked for forgiveness. I allowed everyone online to pass judgement, and I opened myself up to the possibility of rumors being spread about me, and tarnishing my own reputation to regain my credibilty.

This incident doesn't determine my character. I believe it builds my character, because telling the truth is difficult in certain situations. It was much harder to do having known other lies were told to hide the truth and protect myself.

No one likes to be lied to, I don't like being lied to, and I've always been a strong advocate of always telling the truth even if it hurts. It's better to admit your actions initially, then to lie about them, and then the truth surfaces later to come back and bit you in the butt. It's far worse and more painful to the people you've been deceiving for whatever amount of time. The truth always comes out, it just takes time. Everyone should keep that in mind when you begin to tell a lie.

I'm proud of myself for owning up to everthing and not allowing things to go any further. And most importantly, for not allowing the hidden truth to come back and haunt me. The healing process has begun and the amount of time it'll take to overcome this ordeal won't last as long.

People who commit certain sins, crimes, or hurtful acts and believe they will never get caught, and think they can run from the truth, are sadly mistaken. You will be discovered, your reputation will be ruined, and you may not be able to recover from what you did. People won't trust you.

Here are a few questions most people will ponder are:

1. How long would this person have lived with this lie before confessing their sin?
2. Does this person truly feel remorse for their actions, or are they just sorry they got caught?
3. Would they do it, again?
4. Do they have a conscience?
5. Are they telling the truth of what they did or only owning up to the actions they were caught doing?

The actions you choose, in public and in private, determine your character. If you repeatedly choose to make bad decisions, your reputation will suffer.

I believe in second chances. I do believe people can change. I don't believe making mistakes deems anyone a bad person.

But I do know, the day will come when you may need someone or something and you'll experience a difficult time trying to attain a certain goal due to your reputation. If you're in desperate need of money, but you've used all your sources and not repaied your loans, no one is going to lend you money. Your own poor decisions in the past, justify their decision to not help you. If you want a certain job, but you have a reputation of being unreliable, a trouble-maker, unfriendly, and irresponsible, it will follow you. Once again your poor decisions, have tarnished your reputation, and attached themselves to your character.

Be careful of what you choose to do in life, in every circumstance. Always strive to make the highest quality decision even in the most crucial times. Be accountable for your mistakes and don't continue to repeat them. And most importantly, always tell the truth, even if it hurts, it causes less pain, heartache, trouble, guilt...etc, in the end.

I'd like to say thank you to everyone who read my blog, yesterday. And a special thank you to all my friends and family who supported, inspired, and provided encouragement for owning up to my mistake, and loving me, anyways:-)