Every person has a reputation or a brand. Truth be known, we probably have many brands associated with us. Think about it assume for a moment that I am writing this blog on a laptop that sports a glowing apple and say I were sitting in a coffee shop sipping a latte from a cup that has a certain 16th century Norse woodcut of a twin-tailed mermaid, or Siren on it. While I am drinking and writing I am doing so wearing a certain pair of slip on kicks connected with helping children who have no shoes, a vintage looking t-shirt, and a pair of semi-skinny jeans. One glance and you can conclude that I prefer Mac over PC, Im a Starbucks man, Im cause driven as demonstrated by my Toms, and as far as the skinny jeans, you could conclude that I have lost my ever-loving mind. Whether we like it or not we live in a world of inevitable branding through our preferences and decisions. But there is a different kind of brand that should concern those who have been blessed with the gift of salvation. See Proverbs 11:24-25 (ESV):
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
These verses contrast the generous and the selfish with the emphasis being on the manner in which one is generous. The one who is generous blesses and helps others and will in turn receive blessings. The apostle Paul himself would quote part of these verses in 2 Corinthians 9:6-10 when discussing generosity and prosperity. Commentators have pointed to John Bunyans quaint rhyme that reads like a riddle to help explain this passages meaning:
A man there was, though some did count
him mad, The more he cast away, the more he had.
He that bestows his goods upon the poor shall have as much again,
and ten times more.
In a world of competing brands swirling around us like images in a kaleidoscope the brand of the redeemed should burst forth with a sacred sense of clarity. The brand of the blessed is that they in turn are a blessing. The generosity bestowed is in fact spread far and wide. In short the blessed soul blesses others.
By Brent Crowe (Twitter)