Reputation

Air contains a variety of chemical components that range from water vapor and carbon dioxide to the stench of cigarette smoke and the odor of Aunt Mable’s perfume.  About 78% of it consists of nitrogen molecules, N₂.  Oxygen molecules, O₂, make up another 21%.

Chemical reactions involve the transformation of substances into new substances.  Oxygen is highly reactive, and that’s why we need it:  O₂ is used in important chemical reactions in our bodies.  Unlike O₂, under normal circumstances N₂ is not very chemically reactive.  That is, N₂ does not readily combine with other things to form new substances, and this is one reason why we can inhale it without any negative effects.

N₂ is, however, the culprit in nitrogen narcosis, in which scuba divers at significant depths experience a type of anesthetic effect caused by inhaling nitrogen at high pressure.  Not surprisingly, nitrogen narcosis can lead to irrational behavior.  These effects are easily remedied by rising to shallow depths where the pressure of the inhaled N₂ is lower, but rising too rapidly leads to decompression sickness (the bends), where nitrogen and other gases form bubbles throughout the body.  This can lead to pain, itching, nausea, vomiting, and a wide range of other unpleasant effects (including death).  Although nitrogen narcosis and the bends can be very serious, they appear to involve only the physical properties of nitrogen and not its chemical behavior.  N₂ is rather stable and just doesn’t react chemically under normal circumstances.

There are, however, other circumstances.  In the Haber-Bosch process, for example, nitrogen and hydrogen molecules are forced to react at high temperature and high pressure to produce ammonia molecules.  This process forms the basis of producing synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.  While there are pros and cons of using such fertilizers, it is a simple fact that at this point in time the Haber-Bosch process is so important to agriculture that abandoning it would lead to widespread starvation and death.  Natural nitrogen fixation also converts nitrogen and hydrogen to ammonia.  Rather than occurring in large chemical plants, it takes place in microorganisms primarily located in nodules on the roots of legumes such as soybeans and peanuts.  Natural nitrogen fixation, however, is not currently providing enough nitrogen to agriculture to feed everybody on planet earth.

In other exceptional circumstances, such as those found in internal combustion engines, N₂ and O₂ react with each other to form NO (nitrogen monoxide or nitric oxide) and NO₂ (nitrogen dioxide).  NO and NO₂ are known collectively as NO_x (where x is either one or two) or simply as NOx.  NOx contributes to a variety of bad things including an increased incidence of asthma and the formation of photochemical smog.  Diesel engines run at higher temperatures than gasoline engines, and as a result diesel engines produce more NOx.

Several technologies exist for almost completely eliminating NOx from the exhaust of diesel engines, but they add to the cost of building the car.  They can add more cost in consumables for the consumer (and more inconvenience) and can decrease engine performance and fuel economy.  Because NOx contributes to serious problems, there are pollution standards that automobile manufacturers must comply with.  If a car model produces too much NOx, then the manufacturer won’t be allowed to sell it.  This is where Volkswagen cheated.

VW engineers knew that their “clean diesel” TDI engines wouldn’t meet NOx emission standards while also getting maximum power and fuel economy.  Their solution, if you can call it that, gave the car the ability to detect when the exhaust was being tested for NOx emissions.  During exhaust tests the car would automatically adjust settings so that it would pass the test.  When the car determined that the test was over, it would change settings so that the diesel engine would achieve maximum power and the car would get optimum fuel economy.  Of course, it was now emitting illegal levels of NOx.  VW got away with this until some researchers at West Virginia University did some real world testing on VW TDI cars and found that the emissions weren’t in the allowable range.  Volkswagen has since confessed that worldwide roughly 11 million vehicles (including some from other brands in the VW group, such as Audi and Porsche) have this engineering cheat built into them.  Many loyal—or perhaps in some cases formerly loyal—customers feel betrayed.  A news article posted at the time of this writing indicated that during November of 2015 the sales of VW vehicles in the U.S. had dropped by 25% compared to November of 2014.  In the U.K. sales dropped 20%.  This represents a big loss of both revenue and profit for one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in the world.

 “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches….”

(Proverbs 22:1 ESV)

Good name has the sense of reputation, and Solomon certainly knew what he was talking about.  Both VW engineers and management took what appears to have been a calculated gamble, but in so doing they sacrificed both personal integrity and corporate reputation in exchange for what turned out to be profits on some cars for about seven years.  They have a lot of cars to fix, and they are going to spend a lot of money dealing with law suits and paying government fines.  VW’s reputation has been shredded, and management is desperately trying to minimize the damage and rebuild trust.  Yes, a good reputation is worth a great deal, and it is worth taking great pains to protect it.

God has a reputation, too, and some verses refer to it.  For example, David said,

 “But you, O GOD my Lord,

deal on my behalf for your name's sake;

because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!”

(Psalms 109:21 ESV)

David is appealing to God on the basis of His reputation.  It’s like saying, “God, what will people think of you if you don’t deliver me?”  Solomon also said,

 “The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

(Proverbs 18:10 ESV)

A strong tower is a structure that prevents the bad guys from harming you.  How is it possible for God’s reputation to be a strong tower?  Consider what Jesus said:

“Look at the birds of the air:

they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?”

(Matthew 6:26 ESV)

God won’t abandon us, either:

“…He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

 (Hebrews 13:5 ESV)

He put his reputation on the line when he said these things.  What will people think if he fails us?  What will they say?  God’s reputation is always at stake, and he always take steps to protect it.  You can rest assured that he will honor his promises.  “God, what will people think of you if you don’t help me in this situation?”