How bad has it gotten on the internet that we are offered now companies that will work on our behalf to repair and remove bad things that are said about us online?  With the explosion of user-generated review content sites, it really shouldn’t be a surprise to us that  companies like Reputation.com and Reputation Defender are finding customers and I might add, charging a hefty amount for their work.  I have heard of companies and individuals being charged over $100K to have their online search results altered and improved.  While at first it sounds crazy but in some ways it’s the modern day malpractice or general liability insurance coverage.  If you are a professional service provider, say a dentist, and your next unhappy patient turns out to be a major online influencer, you could be in real trouble, real fast.  The fact of the matter is that it has now become the norm to check out the reviews of companies just like have done for a long time for entertainment.  Today it is just as normal to check Yelp as it is to got to Rotten Tomatoes or MetaCritic.  It’s a scary world if your reputation matters for your livelihood, and whose doesn’t really?  Even to get a new job you should expect that someone is checking the internet to put together a story on you.  And, it’s not going to get better. Instead we should be prepared for the greater scrutiny that the internet and the transparency of the web provides.

Everyday that we go to work and go about our daily business we are putting our reputation out in the wild to be challenged, reshaped or denigrated. As believers we carry not only our own reputation on our shoulders we also shoulder the reputation, or maybe the only exposure that someone else will have of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  When I was growing up my Father would tell me that what I did outside of our house not only reflected on me, but the whole family.  I carried that with me and when I got in trouble I was reminded of it by my Father in ways that I haven’t forgotten. See, we are reflections of Jesus to others and we have to extra cognizant of this responsibility.  Let’s today and this week let it sink in and be sure that we aren’t letting anything in our work create something that puts us in the position of having to defend our own reputation. 

Reference: Psalm 4:2 (New Living Translation)