What do you want — a personal BRAND, or a good REPUTATION?

We live in a time of Influencers who seek Followers, but there are not enough servant Leaders. Influencers build a personal BRAND, but Leaders want a good REPUTATION. Influencers seek a Platform. Leaders choose a Posture. You build a BRAND for yourself. But a REPUTATION is received from others. This distinction is important if you want a good Name that will last beyond social media clicks, spaces of influence, and even beyond your own lifetime.

The gold standard for REPUTATION is found in Philippians 2:1-11. Here is the One who did not cling to high position, his essential equality with God the Father, or his high status, but served others with great personal self-sacrifice, and all for the glory of God. So, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the Name above every Name” to everlasting and universal acclaim. Jesus earned a well-deserved REPUTATION for nobility with a legacy of glory because of his humble, self-giving, costly sacrificial service.

God’s Son emptied himself of self to love others. He neither thought less of, nor more highly of himself than he truly deserved. Jesus Christ lived selflessly in the service of his Father’s glory, and the good of others.

By contrast, a BRAND name is not the same as a good REPUTATION. Recall how Mr. Trump said: “You’ve got to put your name on stuff or no one remembers you.” An obsession to build a personal BRAND is why we get Trump Steaks, Trump Accounts, Trump Gold Cards, Trump Rx, Trump Mobile Phones, Trump Center for the Arts, Trump Institute for Peace, Trump Towers, Trump Golden Fleet, Trump Bibles, Trump Casinos, Trump Resorts, Trump Bitcoin, Trump University, Trump Sneakers, Trump Hotels, Trump Golf Resorts.

BRANDS, even gilded and profitable ones, have a short shelf life and often go bankrupt. But a good REPUTATION will endure. “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” (Proverbs 22:1)

The contrast between a BRAND and a REPUTATION is often observed in the behaviors of the “old money” aristocracy and the “new money.” Those with a secure identity can give of themselves, personally and sacrificially, to benefit the lives of others. But nouveau riche are often insecure. So they inflate themselves to project their own self-importance, and often demean the reputations of other people.

Every follower of Jesus has a God-given mandate: “Have this mindset among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:6) Those who follow and serve God in imperfect imitation of Jesus’ cruciform way of life will receive a legacy that lasts. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” (Revelation 14:13)

This New Year,
Are you building your BRAND?
Or choosing a good REPUTATION?