Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it.

One of the issues that we've run into as our children approached their teens (and even now as most of them are most of the way through) is how they handle ourselves when someone makes a disparaging comment or comments about themselves.

Anything from lying, to cheating to worse is hurled at our  children by others who it would seem derive their happiness from making other miserable.

I can't remember who the quote is attributed to, but remember hearing this during a sermon once that spoke of living a God-honoring life. 

Following that sermon, we took the words to heart and have shared them with our children.

"Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it." If you did that, what would the outcome be?

A while after putting this into practice, we had one of our older children come home from high school to tell us of a problem that they had with someone gossiping (and outright lying) about them. One person who hear the story simply said, "I know him and that's not the type of person he is." The situation was then diffused and dismissed.

What a blessing it can be when we live our lives as a testimony to who we are as well as whose (God's) we are.

Actions truly do speak louder than words!

Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it.” - See more at: http://familyshare.com/live-in-such-a-way-that-if-someone-spoke-badly-of-you-no-one-would-believe-it#sthash.PKhuvbGG.dpuf

Reputation is a reflection of who you are. You can manage your reputation by using good public relations, but polishing a rotten apple won’t make it a good addition to fruit salad. - See more at: http://familyshare.com/live-in-such-a-way-that-if-someone-spoke-badly-of-you-no-one-would-believe-it#sthash.PKhuvbGG.dpuf

Reputation is a reflection of who you are. You can manage your reputation by using good public relations, but polishing a rotten apple won’t make it a good addition to fruit salad. - See more at: http://familyshare.com/live-in-such-a-way-that-if-someone-spoke-badly-of-you-no-one-would-believe-it#sthash.PKhuvbGG.dpuf

Reputation is a reflection of who you are. You can manage your reputation by using good public relations, but polishing a rotten apple won’t make it a good addition to fruit salad. - See more at: http://familyshare.com/live-in-such-a-way-that-if-someone-spoke-badly-of-you-no-one-would-believe-it#sthash.PKhuvbGG.dpuf

Reputation is a reflection of who you are. You can manage your reputation by using good public relations, but polishing a rotten apple won’t make it a good addition to fruit salad. - See more at: http://familyshare.com/live-in-such-a-way-that-if-someone-spoke-badly-of-you-no-one-would-believe-it#sthash.PKhuvbGG.dpuf

Reputation is a reflection of who you are. You can manage your reputation by using good public relations, but polishing a rotten apple won’t make it a good addition to fruit salad. - See more at: http://familyshare.com/live-in-such-a-way-that-if-someone-spoke-badly-of-you-no-one-would-believe-it#sthash.PKhuvbGG.dpuf

Reputation is a reflection of who you are. You can manage your reputation by using good public relations, but polishing a rotten apple won’t make it a good addition to fruit salad. - See more at: http://familyshare.com/live-in-such-a-way-that-if-someone-spoke-badly-of-you-no-one-would-believe-it#sthash.PKhuvbGG.dpuf

Reputation is a reflection of who you are. You can manage your reputation by using good public relations, but polishing a rotten apple won’t make it a good addition to fruit salad. - See more at: http://familyshare.com/live-in-such-a-way-that-if-someone-spoke-badly-of-you-no-one-would-believe-it#sthash.PKhuvbGG.dpuf