Top Gun Maverick: Your reputation precedes you.

Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is now Captain Mitchell inside the Top Gun universe. As one Admiral put it, "Maverick... you can't get a promotion, you won't retire, and, despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star admiral by now, if not a senator. Yet here you are."

A few moments later, Maverick is told he is being sent back to North Island and "Top Gun."

After he arrives at "Top Gun," he stands in front of Admirals Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson and Solomon 'Warlock' Bates.

Admiral Simpson states, "Your reputation precedes you," to which "Maverick" replies, "Thank you, Sir."

To clarify his comment, Admiral Simpson replies dryly, "It wasn't a compliment."

"Maverick" does not have the best name in the Navy. He has committed multiple crimes while serving. He has more than half a dozen "buzzing" of airfield towers, numerous instances of "improperly hazarding an aircraft," multiple failures to obey orders from a superior commission officer, and he destroyed a multi-million dollar test plane.

Yet, his abilities as a pilot and his protection from Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky have "Maverick" still in the Navy.

Losing A Good Name

Having a "reputation precedes you" is only beneficial if that reputation is a "good" one.

Proverbs 22:1 states, "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold."

Why is it better than great riches or silver or gold?

It takes a long time to build a good reputation. It only takes an instance to lose one.

While riches are gained and lost daily in the stock market or real estate market, there is no quick way to build or repair a loss of reputation.

Politicians such as Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton lost their reputations for their actions in the Oval Office.

In Scripture, we see that King David lost his reputation because of his affair with Bathsheba, as recorded in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12.

Losing A Bad Name

We know that Saul, who became Paul after his conversion, had a negative reputation among the early believers. Acts 9:1 shows, "But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord."

Look at how Acts 9:11-14 records the conversation between the Lord and Ananias.

And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." (emphasis added)

Building Your Reputation Back

In Acts 9:26-27 we read, "And when he [Saul now called Paul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus."

It took Paul years to rebuild his reputation.

Most people now only remember him as Paul the Apostle, and not Saul the murderer of early Christians.

How Paul Rebuilt His Reputation And How We Can

Paul's first step was to admit he made mistakes.

Paul repented like King David, who wrote in Psalm 69:10, "When I wept and humbled[a] my soul with fasting, it became my reproach."

Acts 9:8-9 shows that "Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank." (emphasis added.)

Paul recounts more about what happened with Ananias in Acts 22:11-16. Luke reports Paul stating, "And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour, I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'"

He then worked very hard work to rebuild trust.

In Acts 9:20-22 we read, "And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?" 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ."

The third step Paul used was to find an advocate. As mentioned above, Barnabus advocated on Paul's behalf.

though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,[c] blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:4-11

If our reputation is not what we want it to be, how can we implement what Paul did?

If we have a good reputation, do we value it more than great riches? What are we doing to protect our reputations?