Read
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
Isaiah 30:18
Reflect
Atlanta was in a stir in July 1996. The world had descended on the city for the Summer Olympics, and there was more excitement during that time than perhaps at any other point in the city’s recent history. A lot of people took vacations and left town because they feared even worse traffic than usual. (And if you’re familiar with Atlanta, you know how bad the traffic can be.) My wife and I stayed, in part because we wanted to attend at least one event. My parents floated me a ticket for one of the track and field sessions, and I was able to get two tickets to a baseball game. We just had to pick them up downtown on July 27.
You might recognize that date. The world does now. But it caught us all by surprise and changed the impression of those Olympics forever. Things were peaceful when we went to sleep on the night of July 26, 30 years ago. When we woke up and turned on the TV, we were met with stories about a bombing in Centennial Olympic Park. One woman had been killed by the explosion, more than 100 people had been injured and a cameraman had suffered a fatal heart attack while rushing to cover the scene. Excitement had turned to terror, and fairly quickly, suspicion turned toward the security guard who had found the bomb minutes before it detonated—an unassuming man named Richard Jewell.
I understand Richard Jewell. He was a guy who wanted to do more with his life, but whose decisions and appearance hadn’t helped with that effort. He wanted to be a police officer, but for now, he lived with his mother, Bobbi, and worked as a security guard. That night, he paid attention to the right things. He noticed an odd green backpack under a bench in Centennial Olympic Park and alerted authorities.
Sadly, misguided investigators and overly ambitious news reporters were all too willing to point the finger at Richard because they thought he fit the profile of a fame-seeker. They even ran headlines calling him a “hero,” complete with quotation marks that seemed to mock the word inside them. Nothing else fit, but the narrative suited their purposes for the moment.
Meanwhile, Richard and his mother were dragged through the fire for 88 days. During that time, they were subjected to questioning and innuendo, and it was hard for Richard to go anywhere without being accosted by strangers who assumed that what they heard in the media was true. Even six years later, in a 2002 interview with 60 Minutes, Richard said, “You go to a grocery store and hear people whisper your name. They stare at you, they point at you.”
Despite his actions that night, he added, “I’ve never been treated like a hero. I don’t know what a hero’s treated like. Most people don’t say that. Most people say [I’m] the ex-suspect.”
Most of us will never have to endure what Richard Jewell went through, but there may be times when we find ourselves being accused unjustly. That’s a hard place to be, especially because our good name is something most of us work very hard to establish. Proverbs 22:1 reminds us, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.”
So what do we do when we find ourselves the object of unfair scrutiny?
Ultimately, our security cannot rest entirely in what other people think of us. Isaiah 30:18 says, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”
God wants to show us mercy and bring justice, and we need to trust that He will ultimately do that. In Richard Jewell’s case, justice came, even if it took far too long. The damage could not be completely undone, but he was exonerated, and the officials and reporters who had rushed to judgment were exposed. Some media organizations also paid settlements because of their actions.
As Proverbs tells us, do pay attention to your good name. There’s nothing wrong with establishing a good and godly reputation in your community and in the world. But if the day comes when you are accused wrongfully, remember that Joseph, Job, Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus were also falsely accused. People may misunderstand us, misrepresent us or refuse to admit that they were wrong. But God knows the truth, and His judgment is not influenced by rumors, appearances or popular opinion.
Protect your good name when you can. But when you cannot, place it in the hands of the God of justice, knowing that His is the only judgment that will stand forever.
Enjoyed this? Subscribe and get future reflections, bourbon notes, and assorted nonsense delivered straight to your inbox.
Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
