Loving Favor/A Good Name

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver or gold.

Proverbs 22:1

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     I get the bit about “a good name” but what does the writer of this proverb mean speaking of “loving favor”? Doesn’t that seem like it recommends being granted favor over others by the means of groveling? If this translates as being bequeathed favor via an authority of some kind, even of God, it would appear to be contrary to the spirit of the rest of the Book of Proverbs. Within the spirit of the Heart of Compassion would it have to be some sort of divine disposition? My experience has been that the bondage to self is lifted only after I take certain actions born of humility rather than the currying of favor: i.e., I was relieved of the obsession to drink once I admitted I was impotent over the grip of alcoholism and could not manage any part of my life beyond the realm of its tyranny without some kind of spiritual power greater than the bottle. The rest of the proverb about the value of a “good name” folds into this cessation. It has to do with wholeheartedly taking responsibility for my own name and actions and proceeding as though the ancestry of my name depends on a commitment to the integrity of it.

    An example of honoring and cherishing favor could be explained in this little story:

   My last drunk was filled with a violent rage that ended with breaking out all the windows in my apartment and threatening my neighbors. When called before the dear man who was my landlord, I didn’t grovel or even say I was sorry. I repaired the broken glass and only then approached him, fully expecting to be rightfully evicted. When he asked, “Why should I believe you won’t do this again?” my answer was simple, “All I can give you is my word.” Thus, my word, and my “good name”, was seriously in jeopardy at that point and I felt that what little worth it held would have to be protected by any means in my power to keep it. Don Nelson went to his grave having had that one promise kept as though I was the steward of a treasure revered above gold. The Heart of Compassion doesn’t require us to grovel for favors but to simply acknowledge our own worth by accepting responsibility. I will always love “favor” of this sort.

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