A RUINED REPUTATION

Sir,
 
As we take our seats before the boarding master at the hostel in one of the prestigious schools in Manzini, this is the first day of our second term of the year 2008. A few minutes just after calling the roll call, he looks at us and says; “Congratulations to all of you for making it back to school safely and let alone the hostel even this term.” The sermon as you would predict was followed by encouragement for the following term and tools on how to survive the rest of the new term. What caught my attention were the words which he ended with. He said; “It takes more than five years to build an excellent reputation but it only takes five minutes to destroy that reputation.”

It took me almost the rest of my life after that and I am still trying to digest his exact words and trying to comprehend the content of his words. As I was still trying to search my spiritual library, which is 10 years later, a thought which I presume was from the Lord revealed to me that many men of God have suffered from ruined reputations but repairing that reputation was the important part. Joseph at the brim of his promotion in the house of Potiphar, his master’s wife, was tempted by his young and handsome stature. She tried everything to convince him to have intercourse with her but to no avail, as he stood in integrity and honesty to God.

She wickedly thought that if she could not have Joseph as she wanted him, she might as well ruin his reputation by accusing him of rape. She knew exactly that after her accusation, Joseph would be confined to a prison and would then spend a long time there. His good reputation and good name would be forgotten in society. Even though Joseph was falsely accused, thrown in jail and had his reputation ruined among the Egyptians, God never forgot his loyalty and integrity; in fact in jail he continually gave him an assignment to look after his fellow prisoners. He perfected his dream interpreting gift until it was recognised by his fellow prisoners, who recommended him to Pharaoh’s servants who were later confined in the same jail. Joseph’s reputation was completely restored among Egyptians when Pharaoh needed his dream interpreting skills.

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