5 Minutes to Ruin Your Reputation
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5 Minutes to Ruin Your Leadership and Reputation
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” —Attributed to Warren Buffett
The Lesson of the Cave
Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back are considered among the most significant films of all time, becoming deeply embedded in popular culture.1 In The Empire Strikes Back, a scene depicts Yoda training Luke Skywalker to be a Jedi Knight. During the training, Yoda and Luke Skywalker approach the entrance to the Dagobah cave. As he nears the entrance, Luke remarks:
"There's something not right. I feel cold."
Yoda: "That place… is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go."
Luke: "What's in there?"
Yoda: "Only what you take with you."
There is an ominous prophetic warning in Yoda's words.
Luke straps on his blaster and lightsaber and enters the cave, expecting to confront the hidden danger. Upon entering, Luke encounters who he thinks is Darth Vader. After an intense lightsaber fight, Luke beheads Vader. His head tumbles to the ground, and the mask shatters, revealing not Vader’s face but Luke’s pale, lifeless face staring back at him. This is a powerful depiction of Yoda’s warning that Luke faces only what he takes in with him.
Whether Stephen Spielberg intended it or not, Yoda’s warning reflects a profound theological truth. The most significant danger we face comes not from outside of us; it resides within us. It was not some dark evil lurking in the cave that threatened Luke; it was the dark evil lurking within his soul that was dangerous. This danger resides within the deep caverns of each of us, ready at the first opportunity to destroy our reputations, credibility, and leadership.
The moral of the story is what resides within us is more dangerous than what resides without.
A Dangerous Pride
We are confronted with moral failure everywhere we look. Mainstream and social media are filled with examples of catastrophic moral failures of leaders in business, government, entertainment, the Catholic Church, and evangelical churches and ministries, including the Southern Baptist Convention. And there are legions of lesser-known organizations and people who have destroyed their reputations, marriages, and careers due to moral failure.
None of these individuals or organizations thought they would experience such moral collapse. This over-confident pride echoes Luke’s bold confidence that he was ready to be a Jedi.
Luke Skywalker: Yoda? I am ready! I— Ben, I can be a Jedi! Ben tell him I'm ready!
Yoda: Ready are you? What know you of ready? For 800 years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained! A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one, a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away to the future, the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Adventure. Heh! Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless!
Obi-Wan Kenobi: So was I, if you remember.
Yoda: He is too old. Yes. Too old to begin the training.
Luke Skywalker: But I've learned so much.
Yoda: Will he finish what he begins?
Luke Skywalker: I won't fail you! I'm not afraid.
Yoda: Oh! You will be. You will be.
We are often like Luke; we are not afraid because we falsely believe we are incapable of catastrophic moral failure. But, we should be afraid—even terrified—of ourselves!
The danger we see can most often be avoided. The threat we don’t see is what will most likely get us. That hidden danger is the hubris of thinking we are good enough and intelligent enough to avoid the darkness within that would destroy our reputations and our leadership. When hearing of the moral failure of others, it is too easy to point a self-righteous finger at others while thinking, "How could he or she do such a thing? I'd never do that!”
Oh, but each of us can! We are far worse than we dare think.
In the early sixties, prosecutors had gathered a group of concentration camp survivors to testify against Adolph Eichmann—a man who had presided over the deaths of millions. One of those men was Yehiel Dinur, a Jewish man who had managed to survive Auschwitz. When Yehiel entered the courtroom, he saw Eichmann. Dinur began to shout and sob as their eyes met until he finally collapsed on the courtroom floor. What made him collapse? …The horror of encountering a man capable of such evil? No. A reporter on Sixty Minutes asked Dinur that question. Dinur responded,
“I was afraid about myself… I saw that I am capable to do this… exactly like he.”2
That is an ominous warning. Rather than pridefully assuming that we could “never do that,” we should assume that we can and will unless we are vigilant. This is why Paul warns us to avoid the pride of moral self-sufficiency.
But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified … Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 9:27; 10:11–13).
If someone as spiritually disciplined and committed as Paul was afraid of ruining his ministry and testimony, we should be scared to death of doing so.
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
Benjamin Franklin is attributed to have said that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Regarding our reputations and leadership, not a wiser statement could be made. Guarding ourselves and our reputations is simple but difficult. Here are practices that can help prevent self-inflicted devastating damage to our reputations and leadership.
1. Recognize the threats from without
We live in enemy territory. Like a deadly virus or cancer, the enemy of our souls and reputations may be invisible but no less real. The devil is out to destroy us, everything we care about, and all that is true, good, and beautiful. Peter warns us about our mortal enemy, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The devil uses many means to entrap and destroy us, including the trials of life (the story of Job is a prime example) and the sins of others that entice us to sin. An example of the latter is the unwarranted attacks upon our leadership or character that tempt us to respond in kind and, in doing so, sully our reputation and damage our credibility.
2. Recognize the threat from within
The devil is not our only enemy. Our evil desires are constantly searching out temptations to satisfy their insatiable lusts. Our remaining sinful nature is a dire threat to us. This is why we must always guard ourselves against our evil inclinations, which the devil uses to entice us to sin.
One of the most poignant passages in the scripture concerning our sinful nature is Romans 7:14-24. The implication is that we cannot trust ourselves. We are prone to sin and to deceiving ourselves. Jeremiah warns that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it (Jeremiah 17:9)? To guard against sin and self-deceit, we must practice what military and law enforcement experts call situational awareness.
Situational awareness involves being aware of what is happening around you, taking everything into account and adjusting your behavior to reduce the risk of injury to you, your family or your coworkers [emphasis added] … Throughout the day, remember to pause regularly to make a quick, mental assessment of your environment. That way, if conditions change, you can respond, helping to reduce the risk of injury to you and those around you.3
Spiritual situational awareness recognizes the spiritual threats from within (James 1:14; Hebrews 12:1) and outside us. We have sinful inclinations particular to our personalities that Satan seeks to exploit (1 Peter 5:8). We can commit any sin. Still, we are drawn to some sins more than to others. We must be aware of the particular situations and circumstances likely to tempt and lead us to sin. For example, if we know that we are prone to the sin of gossip, we should limit the time we spend with those who have a habit of gossiping. If we are inclined to the sin of lust, we must avoid any material likely to feed it. If we are prone to lie, we should pause and think before speaking so that we have time to remind ourselves to speak the truth. If we are inclined to pride, we should cultivate humility by avoiding self-promotion. In other words, whenever possible, we must flee temptation (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Timothy 6:11) and resist it (James 4:4–8).
3. Take care of your soul
Sanctification, the process of becoming holy, of progressively becoming in reality what we are declared to be judicially in Christ, is essential for guarding our reputations. Just as healthy eating and exercise promote physical health, a consistent devotional life, honoring the Sabbath, and serving and worshiping in a local church are spiritual disciplines that promote spiritual health. Spiritual health is essential to building and protecting our character and reputation.
4. Watch what you watch
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Philippians 4:8–9).
Just as what we eat affects our bodies, what we watch and listen to affects our souls. A steady entertainment diet filled with violence, vulgarity, and sex corrupts the soul. We become numb to sin and evil; violence, profanity, and immorality become normalized, and what is normalized becomes acceptable.
This is why Paul instructs us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). Just like a computer program, “garbage in, garbage out,” we are affected by what we ingest—physically and mentally.
Don’t eat garbage. Don’t watch garbage.
Guard Your Most Precious Possession
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold (Proverbs 22:1).
Satan does not want you to be an effective leader in God’s kingdom. He will do all within his power to discourage and destroy you and your leadership. Be on guard against him, against your sinful nature, and against the enticements of others to sin. Again, Solomon reminds us that “a good name is better than precious ointment” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). Commenting on this passage, Matthew Henry writes:
A good name is before good ointment; it is preferable to it, and will be rather chosen by all that are wise. Good ointment is here put for all the profits of the earth (among the products of which oil was reckoned one of the most valuable) …
A good name is better than all riches, that is, a name for wisdom and goodness with those that are wise and good—the memory of the just; this is a good that will bring a more grateful pleasure to the mind, will give a man a larger opportunity of usefulness, and will go further, and last longer, than the most precious box of ointment.
Protect your reputation. Your leadership and the testimony of the gospel depends on it.
Warren Buffett’s advice is timeless, “If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Think about it!
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"Star Wars - Wikipedia." 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars.
unknown (n.d.). "You are worse than you thought - Relentless Love." 2023, from https://relentless-love.org/articles/you-are-worse-than-you-thought/.
Ankerich, Shawn. 2020. Situational awareness: Make safe choices Article The United States Army. Accessed: August 20 from: https://www.army.mil/article/238308/situational_awareness_make_safe_choices