Letter of Recommendation.

A call to Integrity.

An appraisal, a vote of confidence, a recommendation all synonymous. This is what we thrive on in job search, academic pursuits, building a good network, career progression and promotions, and building beautiful relationships.

It is therefore safe to assume that, if you meet all requirements of an interested party, a good letter of recommendation will set you apart from the rest. When we present applications be it for a job, a promotion, academic pursuit or any other valid reason, we state reference persons who can vouch for us and be testators of our skills, aptitude and most importantly our character. In my experience, I will bet on someone who knows me well, and will present all the facts about me.

In my life, I have two memories of people vouching for me in my presence. In both cases I was humbled and stunned at the fact that people actually observe your actions and formulate good or bad opinions about you. I also felt good within my spirit knowing that, I am an inspiration to someone and I was at least in my own feeble way, with my wretched life (or so I thought) fulfilling the admonishment of Jesus Christ to be the light of the world.

As a young Christian, I have learnt a few things and I wish to draw out two truths pertaining to this subject.

1. Jesus Christ died for me, took the blame, the shame, the infirmities and the iniquities. He rose again and ascended to be with my Father in Heaven. He is constantly interceding on my behalf and yours too if you believe. To me, this is the best recommendation or appraisal I could ever receive. In the eyes of God, I am holy, righteous, spotless, blameless and victorious. Even in my flaws, I am still worthy because that is what Jesus said about me. God believes this and accepts because ONE who is worthy and has a good reputation says so.

2. In my quest for a career path, I have constantly stated about three people I believe will give a fair and just assessment of me as references over the past four years. Having worked with them as a student or an intern, hopefully they know me well enough to be willing to put their integrity and reputation on the line for me. I am very grateful for these people and their contribution to my life.

What’s the point I am making here?

Whenever someone vouches for you, they are putting their hard earned reputation on the line. It is therefore on you to live up to the standards you have presented to that individual. No pressure here to be a people pleaser; that’s not what I am advocating for. I am just saying, so many of us present a facade or have the tendency to do so just to become the “YES MAN”. I will rather have you know the true me, just so you don’t get surprised or disappointed when my flaws come to light eventually.

I personally believe that in this world, I am a walking letter of recommendation. People observe my way of living, my speech, my actions and inaction and may be influenced by me. I believe it is on me to be the true and the best me. So then no matter where I am, my true self and character must be evident.

Its very easy to categorize our lives as Christians. In church, we are very diligent and serve with all we have. At home or at work, we are totally different. We tend to approach tasks and responsibility with apathy and negligence. In these environments, we tend to put God in the clown box only to set Him lose on Sunday. We tend to want to please the people who we hold in high regard. Our integrity is in question when these people are absent.

Don’t be the loving husband and super dad at church or in public and then be a tyrant and a monster at home. Remember your children are watching and will learn from that. God is watching as well.

Don’t slack off at work because your supervisor is not watching. Don’t overstay your lunch break on purpose to skip some hours. That is a tarnished recommendation right there. Remember, promotion time is approaching and I have three questions for you;

When you take on a leadership role, will you be okay to see your team with the work ethic you have now?

Will you be able to ask your team to be better when they act the way you do now?

Will people ever want to look up to you?

You may not believe in God or His Son Jesus Christ and I totally respect that, but if you have read this to this point, I hope you will pick some life lessons from it.

Do not put the reputation of the people who vouched for you in the gutters. With that said, make sure you don’t put on a mask as well when it comes to your character. Also, some things can be corrected and changed through discipline and diligence. Work on you, grow, replace some bad habits formed over the years with good ones.

There is a path to success and you can choose to take it. You are a walking letter of recommendation of Jesus, your parents,your wife, your children, the children in your community, your friends, your college professors, your pastor and your former boss.

Believe me when I say this, people are observing you. When they “read” you, they will either want to be better people with you as a role model or have nothing to do with you at all.

Be your true and best self regardless.

God bless you!

We are Kingdom Men and we serve the King!