Reputation vs Character

The circumstances amid which you live determine your reputation;

The truth you believe determines your character.

Reputation is what you are supposed to be;

Character is what you are.

Reputation comes over one from without;

Character grows from within.

Reputation is what you have when you come into a new community;

Character is what you have when you go away.

Your reputation is learned in an hour;

Your character does not come to light for a year.

Reputation is made in a moment;

Character is built in a lifetime.

Reputation grows like a mushroom;

Character grows like an oak.

A single newspaper report gives you your reputation;

A life of toil gives you your character.

Reputation makes you rick or makes you poor;

Character makes you happy or makes you miserable.

Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone;

Character is what angels say about you before the throne of God.

-Author unknown, quoted in Becoming a Women of Beauty and Strength by Elizabeth George