重建你的聲譽──REBUILDING YOUR REPUTATION
我們都會犯錯，偶爾甚至還會犯大錯。而在生意上犯大錯時，我們的員工、客戶、供應商，有時甚至是媒體，都會知道，還會把消息傳給別人。錯誤會大大地損害我們的聲譽、破壞我們擴張的機會。建立良好的聲譽需要一輩子的時間，但摧毀它卻只要一瞬間。
即便錯誤的決定或行為所產生的不良影響，有時會持續很多年。但是，這些錯誤可以幫助我們學習並成為更好的人和職場工作者。
重建一個人的聲譽並不容易。這需要時間和持續的努力。我們在聖經中找到了其中最好的例子之一：掃羅這個迫害基督徒的人，後來成為基督福音的傳道者保羅。在使徒行傳 9章22節中，我們讀到了他在前往大馬士革城期間，與耶穌基督的一次獨特接觸之後，所發生戲劇性並極為罕見的轉化：「但掃羅越發有能力，駁倒住大馬士革的猶太人，證明耶穌是基督。 」
他是如何重建自己的聲譽的？基本上，他遵循了三個步驟：謙虛地承認錯誤、不斷努力和尋找擁護你的人。讓我們來看看這些步驟：
保羅採取的第一步是承認自己的錯誤。我們在使徒行傳22章19節中讀到了這一點，當保羅承認他過去的罪時提到：「我就說：『主啊，他們知道我從前把信你的人收在監裏，又在各會堂裏鞭打他們。』」
如果你犯了一個損害自己聲譽的錯誤，那就要透過認錯來開始恢復聲譽的旅程，不可找藉口。一個謙虛和真誠的懺悔，而不是掩飾或試圖找理由，會是你恢復聲譽的第一步。
保羅的第二步是透過不斷努力建立信任來提高他的聲譽。這通常是一個緩慢的過程，但我們必須這麼做，日復一日地展現並過著改變後的生活。當我們做出承諾並兌現的時候，就能重建信任並開始增強我們的聲譽。
使徒行傳 9章28節與29節說到：「於是掃羅在耶路撒冷和門徒出入來往，奉主的名放膽傳道，..」，如果你想要恢復自己的聲譽，請承諾日復一日甚至再一日地努力建立信任，無論需要多久。
保羅使用的最後一步是找到一位擁護者。一個能代表他挺身而出並為他生命的積極變化做擔保的人。可以理解的是，當時耶穌的門徒們不想接見、聽到甚至看到保羅，因為他一直是門徒的頭號敵人，迫害和監禁著他們相同信仰的兄弟姐妹們。比起相信保羅的改變，門徒也許更相信花豹的斑點可以消失。
幸運的是，他找到了在早期教會中一位勇敢的領袖巴拿巴當他的擁護者。「惟有巴拿巴接待他，領去見使徒，把他在路上怎麼看見主，主怎麼向他說話，他在大馬士革怎麼奉耶穌的名放膽傳道，都述說出來。」因為巴拿巴是一個非常正直且大家都信任的人，因此門徒們給了保羅一個機會。如果你的聲譽受損，而你也真實的改變了，請找一位有影響力的擁護者吧。
© 2021 版權所有非傳統商業網路(前身為純全資源中心)。節錄自和 Rick Boxx 的純全時刻，這本刊 物主要 是從基督徒的角度來探討職場上正直這個主題。如果希望知道更多關於這個事工或是想訂閱每日純全時 刻，請上這個網站: www.unconventionalbusiness.org. Rick Boxx 最新出版的書「提供實用五個關鍵的神 的方法來建立企業。」
備註：如果你手上有聖經想閱讀更多內容，請考慮以下經文（因篇幅有限，請參閱未列出的經文以賽亞書61:1-3）：
以賽亞書 53章6節
53:6 我們都如羊走迷；各人偏行己路；耶和華使我們眾人的罪孽都歸在他身上。
羅馬書 3章10節
3:10 就如經上所記：沒有義人，連一個也沒有。
羅馬書3章23節
3:23 因為世人都犯了罪，虧缺了 神的榮耀；
哥林多後書 5章17節
5:17 若有人在基督裏，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了。
歌羅西書 3章12-13節
3:12 所以，你們既是 神的選民，聖潔蒙愛的人，就要存（原文是穿；下同）憐憫、恩慈、謙虛、溫柔、忍耐的心。
3:13 倘若這人與那人有嫌隙，總要彼此包容，彼此饒恕；主怎樣饒恕了你們，你們也要怎樣饒恕人。 雅各書 5章16節 5:16 所以你們要彼此認罪，互相代求，使你們可以得醫治。義人祈禱所發的力量是大有功效的。 雅各書5章19-20節 5:19 我的弟兄們，你們中間若有失迷真道的，有人使他回轉， 5:20 這人該知道：叫一個罪人從迷路上轉回便是救一個靈魂不死，並且遮蓋許多的罪。
反省與問題討論
- 良好的聲譽必須用一輩子的生命和職涯才能建立起來，但一個錯誤的決定或行為卻會破壞它，到幾乎無法恢復的地步，你覺得原因是甚麼？你認為這是正確或公平的嗎？請解釋你的答案。
- 你是否做過嚴重損害自己聲譽的事？如果有，你在嘗試重建它的時候採取了（或正在採取）哪些步驟呢？找一位擁護者，代表你站出來，會有什麼幫助嗎?
- 要承認一個人的錯誤容易嗎？特別是當它非常嚴重的時候。什麼因素會阻擋著真誠、全心全意的認罪和悔改呢？
- 掃羅在迫害耶穌基督早期的追隨者時做了難以言喻的事情，但他得到了饒恕—首先是上帝，然後是基督的門徒們。那怎麼可能呢？你認為自己所作的錯誤，真的有機會得到神的赦免與恢復嗎？
REBUILDING YOUR REPUTATION
By Rick Boxx
We all make mistakes. Sometimes we make big ones. In business, when you make a big mistake, your employees, customers, suppliers, and sometimes even the media, learn about and communicate your mistakes to others. Mistakes can greatly damage our reputation and undermine our growth opportunities. It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but it can be destroyed in an instant.
However, these mistakes can help us learn and become better people and workers, even as the fallout from our bad decisions and actions lingers, sometimes for years.
Rebuilding one’s reputation isn’t easy. It takes time and consistent effort. We find one of the best examples of this in the Bible – the person of Saul, the persecutor of Christians, who became Paul, the Christian evangelist. In Acts 9:22 we read about his dramatic and unlikely transformation after a unique encounter with Jesus Christ while traveling to the city of Damascus: “But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.”
How did he rebuild his reputation? Basically, he followed a three-step process of humbly confessing his mistakes, doing the hard work and finding an advocate. Let’s look at each of these:
The first step Paul took was to confess his mistakes. We read about this in Acts 22:19, when Paul confessed his past sins: “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.’”
If you have made a mistake that damaged your reputation, begin the journey of restoring your reputation by confessing your mistakes, without making excuses. A humble and genuine confession, instead of a cover-up or trying to offer justification, will be your first step in restoring your reputation.
Paul’s second step was to enhance his reputation by doing the hard work of building trust. This is usually a slow process, but we need to. demonstrate and live a changed life, day-in and day-out. When we make promises, then follow through on them, it rebuilds trust and begins to bolster our reputation.
Acts 9:28 says, “So Saul stayed with (the disciples) and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.” If you desire to restore your reputation, make the commitment to do the hard work of building trust day after day after day – for as long as it takes.
The final step Paul used was to find an advocate, someone to stand up on his behalf and vouch for the positive change in his life. Understandably, Jesus’ disciples didn’t want to meet, hear or see Paul. He had been their arch enemy, persecuting and imprisoning their brothers and sisters in the faith. They were more likely to believe a leopard could change its spots.
Fortunately, he found an advocate in Barnabas, a courageous leader in the early Church. Acts 9:27 tells us, “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.” Because Barnabas was trusted as a man of great integrity, the disciples gave Paul a chance. If you have a damaged reputation and really have changed, find an influential advocate.
Copyright 2021, Unconventional Business Network. Adapted with permission from “UBN Integrity Moments”, a commentary on faith at work issues. Visit www.unconventionalbusiness.org UBN is a faith at work ministry serving the international small business community.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
- Why is it, do you think, that a person can devote an entire life and career to building a good reputation, but through one bad decision or action can destroy that reputation, making it nearly impossible to recover? Do you think this is right – or fair? Explain your answer.
- Have you ever done anything that significantly damaged your reputation? If so, what steps did you take (or, are you taking) in trying to rebuild it? How would finding an advocate, someone to stand up on your behalf, be of help?
- How easy is it to confess one’s mistakes, especially if they are of great magnitude? What factors can stand in the way of sincere, wholehearted confession and repentance?
- Saul had done unspeakable things in persecuting early followers of Jesus Christ, yet he was forgiven – first by God, and then by Christ’s disciples. How was that possible? Do you think you have truly reached the point of being forgiven and restored by God for your wrongdoings?
NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages:
Isaiah 53:6, 61:1-3; Romans 3:10,23; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:12-13; James 5:16,19-20
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