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Reputation, Community and True Strength
May 19, 2026 · 20 min
Explore the insights of Proverbs 10 and its guidance on building wealth and strong communities.
Series Russell Gray's Morning Muse May 19, 2026 · 20 min · Russell Gray's Morning Muse
Explore the insights of Proverbs 10 and its guidance on building wealth and strong communities. ...more Show the full description Show less Explore the insights of Proverbs 10 and its guidance on building wealth and strong communities.
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Wealth as a Strong City: Building Brand and Network 0:03 Morning. Welcome to another morning muse. I'm your host, Russell Gray. And this morning, I am contemplating Proverbs chapter 10. And so because it's the tenth of the month, and as I'm0:15 recording this, I am flipping open the book of Proverbs and reading the corresponding day, and I'm looking at Proverbs chapter 10. And I've read Proverbs dozens of0:26 times, I'm sure, over the many years. It's 1 of my favorite books of the bible, and I almost, for many years, started out every devotional period in the morning by reading the, corresponding day of the month0:38 that, reading the proverb of that corresponding month. And so I kinda took a break from reading Proverbs so I could spend more time reading other sections of the Bible, and I decided this morning to get back to that0:49 practice, and it was good. So I'm sharing something that popped out at me that I thought was pretty interesting. So in verse 15, Proverbs says, the rich man's wealth is1:01 his strong city, and the destruction of the poor is their poverty. And what I honed in on was the rich man's wealth is his strong city. And I looked at little notes1:13 that I write over the years, and I looked at that word city. And to me, it meant community. And for those of you that don't know, I've been teaching business. I've been teaching people capital raising1:25 and how to market themselves and then turn that marketing into a lead and that lead into a conversation that is about introducing a solution to somebody's problem in the form of1:37 an investment opportunity. Somebody wants to get from 0.1 to point b in their financial life, and you have some type of an investment opportunity that can help them get there. That's a basis to do some business. It's not1:47 about you having them meet your need, but it's about you and your opportunity helping meet them with their need. But the point is is in order to get into that kind of conversation with somebody, you have to get1:59 into position. And the positioning that you have to have is 1 where they trust your ethics and your competency and your motives. And so when they are talking with you, you're opening2:11 up their heart, if you will, to help you understand what it is they want, why they want it, why they really want it, and that's the motivation that gets people to overcome their2:23 own inertia, their own ability to take action. You know, it I say that all motion comes out of emotion. And so building your brand or building your reputation is fundamental.2:35 And so I call that building your brand and building your network. Your network being the number of people that feel good about you and your brand. So it's just kinda business 1 0 1, and I've always believed that the2:46 bible, especially Proverbs, has some really great practical business advice. And so I look at this and I say, well, I spent a lot of time talking to people who are working to build personal2:58 wealth. And so whenever somebody talks about a rich man and talks about wealth, I I kinda look at the Bible and try to figure out what it's trying to say, not just on a spiritual sense. Not that that is the more3:08 important thing it is, but also what it means to us in our daily lives here is capitalist, as Christian capitalist. And so I look at this, and I see the rich man's wealth is his strong city. And I think, well,3:20 your network is your net worth. In other words, the bigger your brand and the bigger your network, the more your worth, the easier it is to market and to do business3:32 and to influence people. That's why these tech companies that create these massive followings, even though they don't generate that much revenue, end up selling for tons of money. When YouTube3:44 was purchased by Google way back in the day, they really didn't have a revenue model, but what they had was a lot of eyeballs. And so when you create anything that attracts attention like that and people3:56 trust you enough to keep coming back, you really have something that's valuable. And first blush, I read it. I'm like, okay. The the rich man's wealth is a strong city. So if I wanna be a rich man, if I wanna be4:06 successful, if I wanna build wealth in business, I need to build a strong community, and I still do believe that's true. Now there's another verse in Proverbs 18, and the Bible repeatsTrue Strength: God's Name Over Self-Esteem 4:18 itself a little bit. And this 1 adds a little bit more color. And in Proverbs 18, it says the rich man's wealth is a strong city and like a high wall in his4:30 own esteem. Well, I've learned to be very careful about my own esteem because it's not really important what I think about myself. It's important kinda how I feel about myself because if4:42 I don't feel good about myself, then I often withdraw and I don't take action. So I think it's important for you to have confidence, but the confidence really needs to be in god and god's calling. And the4:54 confidence you have in yourself is that you were doing your very best to follow God and to answer his calling and to trust him and to step out in faith. So it's a different kind of confidence5:06 than the world tries to talk you into having where you feel good about yourself and your skills and you rely upon your own hustle. Those things are all, I think, good, but they need to be pointed at the right thing. In5:17 my experience, it's been those things need to be pointed at your devotion to God, at your devotion to his word, your willingness to respond to his call and to follow his plan, and to spend the time to5:29 get his plan from him. And I talk about that a lot, the mountaintop experience where you spend time with God. God gives you the details, and he tells you be careful. Be attentive to build it according to the plan I5:40 showed you on the mountaintop, which is, I believe, Exodus 24 25. So in Proverbs 18, that's verse 11. The rich man's wealth is his strong city. Sounds very familiar to Proverbs 105:52 15, but it adds and like a high wall in his own esteem. So it's a little bit of a caution light. So I look back at verse 10, the tee up in Proverbs 18. So Proverbs 18 11, rich6:04 man's wealth is a strong city and like a high wall in his own esteem. But the setup for that is verse 10 where it says the name of the lord is a strong tower and the righteous run to it and are safe.6:16 And so then it made me think a little bit about this concept of brand, and I thought a little bit of the 10 commandments. And the third commandment says, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.6:28 And a lot of times I think people think that means that, oh, you shouldn't use the Lord's name in vain in your speech. You shouldn't say curse, things like that. And I'm not saying you shouldn't, but I'm not so sure6:40 that's exactly what it means. I really think it means when you get married and if we are the bride of Christ, when you get married and you take on a name or when you join a team and you put on the uniform or6:52 you join a company and you represent the brand, you have a responsibility to represent well. And I think that that could be what the third commandment is7:04 is this idea that you need to represent well. Right? When you are representing God, when you take on the Lord's name, when you become a Christian, when you become a follower of God7:16 that you represent well. And that's probably a higher responsibility than the words that come out of your mouth. I'm not saying that, you know, you need to run around and talk like a sailor. Not saying that at all. What7:27 I am saying is that I think there's a deeper meaning there. And so if you think about that, then if your mission is to represent or bear the name of the Lord well and the name of the Lord is a strong7:39 tower, that's the brand. And the brand is attractive. The righteous run to it and are safe. And then it says a rich man's wealth is his strong city and like a high wall in his own esteem. So7:51 just having a big brand in business without having a foundation in the bigger brand, which is the Lord, it's a false sense of safety. And this is something I wish I8:03 would have learned a long, long time ago in business because I never really put the 2 together. And maybe I'm unique in that. Maybe I'm the only guy that didn't figure it out, but I kinda had my church life. I had, you8:14 know, my spiritual life, and then I had my business life. And they were kind of connected, but they weren't really intertwined. They weren't integrated. They were they were 2 aspects of me and my life, and I was the8:25 common denominator. And so that kept me kind of separate, and I don't think it was healthy. And so now as I've gotten older, I've I've come to realize, wait, it really is important to build8:37 a brand, but you wanna build that brand on the bigger brand. Just like you wanna be about a mission or a purpose, but that mission needs to fit inside the master's plan. The master's plan being love God, love your8:48 neighbor, and make disciples. And so whatever you're doing is your business mission, is your personal mission, is the activities you're engaged in Earth. They all need to fit inside that master plan. Well, I think the8:58 same thing. If you're gonna build a brand and you're gonna build a community, it needs to be built on that foundation of the name of the Lord, and you're gonna bear the name or represent the Lord well. It's a it's a huge9:09 responsibility just like being the brand ambassador for your own company or a company that you work for is a huge responsibility. And you see these athletes or celebrities or sometimes9:21 influencers that are selected by brands to represent their brand because the brand wants to attach the goodwill that the influencer has over their audience to whatever product or service or9:32 brand that the company is offering. And if that influencer does something unattractive, if they do something that is not pleasing to the target audience, boy,9:44 that company will break ties very, very quickly. They do not wanna be associated. Well, if you think about that, if God is quote unquote your sponsor and you're out there operating and you do things that are not9:56 consistent with representing the brand of the lord well, then you can expect he may wanna withdraw his blessing from you. And it doesn't mean that he doesn't love you and it doesn't mean he won't take you back, but it10:08 means for season and you get to decide how long that season is. He he may not it it may not be the same. And again, I'm I'm never here to tell you what God is doing in your life or what God10:20 is saying. I'm not a thus say the lord guy. I'm reading the bible. I'm just musing about what it means to me, and I'm hoping that you'll do the same. And I'm trust that the holy spirit will open up the eyes, ears, and10:32 heart, and mind of your own understanding so that you can see how it applies to you. But to me, I see the rich man's wealth is a strong city, and I think that you wanna have a strong city. But can everybody have a strong10:43 city? Well, no. You can't. I mean, not everybody's gonna own a city. So what is it? You own a community. You build a community, and that community needs to be built on the strong brand. And the brand is subordinated10:55 or fits inside the bigger brand, which is the brand of being a Christian. And so it's really, I think, not a strong city the way the biblical times thought of a fortified11:07 wall and and a physical city, but really a community. A community where you have a good name and you have a lot of people that respect you and your reputation,11:19 trust you, and are willing to support you in doing business, in promoting your business, in referring people to you. And so the idea is you wanna11:30 create work really hard to create, maintain a good reputation, a brand. You want to spend time expanding and promoting that brand by how you treat people and get them to become brand11:42 ambassadors, and that becomes strength. And 1 of my favorite movies, arguably my favorite movie, is It's a Wonderful Life. And if you've ever seen It's a Wonderful Life, then you know the climax of theReputation, Fragrance, and Balance as Power 11:54 movie is when the star of the movie, the protagonist George Bailey, is in dire financial straits. And he is almost suicidal thinking the only way out is to take his own life and12:06 use the life insurance proceeds to settle a financial problem he's got because his irresponsible uncle lost 8000 dollars, which back then was a huge sum of money.12:18 And it looked like George was ruined and was going to be accused of all kinds of malfeasance because he was in a fiduciary responsibility running, building and loan. It's like a credit union way back in I think the thing12:30 was set. The movie was made in the forties, but I think it was probably set in the thirties. It was kind of during World War 2. Yeah. So it was actually late thirties, early forties. At any rate, so at the very12:42 end, what happened is because George had spent his life treating people well, he'd spent his life being generous and kind to the extent that he could, trying to help people whenever he could, always12:54 deferring his dreams, his hopes, his ambitions to serve the people in his community. And what happened is when the chips were down, his whole community based on his reputation or his brand and13:06 the size of his network, they all came and bailed him out. And the final scene is the toast where his brother Harry, a war hero, toast George and says to George Bailey, my brother, the13:18 richest man in town. And so I read Proverbs 10 15. It says a rich man's wealth is his strong city. So the idea is that the rich man's wealth is his brand and his network.13:30 But the warning in Proverbs 18 is that it needs to be based not on you, but based on you in the Lord or you representing the Lord's brand well. So that's the way I13:42 take it. And so I think that that's pretty encouraging. Proverbs 22 verse 1 says a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches. And I think that's not because you don't13:54 want both. You do. But if you had to pick 1 or the other, which 1 comes first? Well, I think the 1 that comes first is a good name. If you build a good brand, then you can build riches, and that's14:06 true in business. So if you spend time as a young person, you say, well, I don't have any money. It takes money to make money. Maybe. But what it certainly does is it takes a good reputation. So if you're a young person14:17 out there and you're trying to think how do I make it in this world, don't compromise your reputation. Don't compromise your personal brand and your business brand in order to make a buck here or there. It's not14:29 worth it. A good name is to be chosen rather than riches. And in fact, if you have a good name and you build a network, you'll be able to create riches because people will trust you and do14:41 business with you and tell other people about your Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 1 says a good name is better than precious ointment. You have to think about that. I looked up. I'm like, well, what's a big deal about14:53 precious ointment? Well, back then, you know, these people lived in the desert. There wasn't air conditioning. You didn't have running water. So people would go for many days, sometimes, weeks without bathing.15:05 And so ointment was scented oils that you would put on to kinda cover up the smell. And so you were a fragrance. And if you had a pleasant fragrance, it was you were more enjoyable to15:17 be around. If you didn't, then you wouldn't. So part of your reputation, if you will, is the impact you have on other people. And if you smell bad, you don't have a good fragrance. People don't wanna be around you. So15:28 there's a little bit of a connection there. And in second Corinthians chapter 2 verses 14 through 16, Paul talks about we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those15:41 being saved and among those perishing. This goes back to this idea of representing well. Right? When we are in the presence of people who are seeking, they're in the15:52 process of being saved or among those who aren't seeking and they're perishing. If we wanna be attractive to them, we have to have a pleasant attractive aroma, if you will. And that is16:04 our brand. That is the way we represent. It's how well do we present the values, the Christian values that are attractive. Do we16:16 love our neighbor? Do we conduct ourselves in a way that is attractive? And so these things definitely have spiritual ramifications because of the calling16:28 that we have to represent the name of the Lord well, going all the way back to the 10 commandments. Certainly, it has ramifications in business and how you're perceived by people16:39 that you would like to do business with, building your brand and building your network. And it also has a role to play inside the broader scope of the master's plan which is to love16:51 God, love your neighbor, and make disciples. And so if you wanna be a pleasant fragrance to people who are being saved or perishing, then the key is is to represent the name17:03 of the Lord well. And of course, we know that God is love. And so we conduct ourselves in a way that exudes that love. It sounds easy to say17:15 it's hard to do, especially with the intensity of business and competition and deadlines and commitments, and you need to make payroll. And there's always a lot of pressure.17:27 And then the act of faith is trusting that if you do the right thing that god will bless. And I've just gone through a season where I felt like I did the wrong thing. I17:38 compromised. I overworked to get rich, if you will. I overworked to get some projects done that I thought were very important, and I thought that I was being noble and sacrificial. But really, what I was doing was17:50 being foolish. It's like when you fly around and you get told all the time if you're especially if you're traveling with a child, the flight attendant will come to you and look at you if you're sitting with a child and18:00 tell you and just remind you, hey. If if if the oxygen masks drop, put yours on first. Why? Because your natural inclination is gonna be to take care of the child first. But if you don't take care of yourself18:11 first, you're not gonna be able to take care of the child and the child needs you to take care of you first so you can take care. And I think a lot of business people forget that. Right? Their teams need them to take18:23 care of themselves. Their families need them to take care of themselves first. It's not selfish to be balanced. In fact, it is actually the source of strength. I believe that balance is power. And I18:35 think if you look at balance in athletics or you look at balance in nature, that's where strength is. You see an unbalanced tree, it's weak. Wind blows, it falls over. You see an unbalanced person,18:46 that person easily, it loses focus. They easily break under pressure. And so you look at athletes and they they're told to have a low center of gravity and a strong18:58 base, hips, core. It all comes from that foundation of balance. So I think that a metaphor of balance being powerful is all throughout nature, but it's also a19:10 spiritual practice. It's a financial practice. It is certainly a business practice. And so you're gonna balance your reputation and the building of your reputation with the things that you19:22 need to do to keep your commitments and honor your brand promise without compromising the bigger things, which is to love god, love your neighbor, and make disciples and be that fragrance. So I think that19:33 there is always practical wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Sometimes you read something and you can interpret it 1 way like I did when I looked at Proverbs 10. I thought, oh, you know, rich man's wealth is a strong city.19:44 Build my brand, build my network, build my community, and I'll be strong. But the warning is in Proverbs 18 is the idea that, yes, but you're strong in your own esteem unless the name of the19:56 lord is the strong tower and that's what you build on. So I think that these things are always a little bit more nuanced. You read them at first blush. You think, okay. I got this and then you read a little bit more and20:07 the bible gives you a little bit greater piece of it. And the next thing is how do I take that and relate it back to what I do in my daily life. So I hope this has helped you. It's encouraged me, so I hope it encourages20:17 you. Give me your feedback. Send me an email at feedback at russell gray dot com. And until next time, may you be blessed to be a blessing.In this video 0:00 Wealth as a Strong City: Building Brand and Network4:13 True Strength: God's Name Over Self-Esteem11:43 Reputation, Fragrance, and Balance as Power36.2K followers
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