We are to be agent men and woman for Christ. But secretively? I'm still thinking about this message Jesus taught in Matthew 6. In the beginning of the chapter He says to pray and fast and give to the needy in secret.But even Jesus saw what the poor widow gave to the church (I know theologically it's not the church, but go with me on this one) in Mark 12:42.
James talks that faith without works is dead (2:14-17). And although we are not able and should not come to a conclusion about someone's spiritual faith based upon what is seen and what is not seen, works of good are evident and noticeable at some point.
Paul in Galatians encourages the counselee to share with their counselor the good things of progress (6:6). Pastors thrive off hearing about their "sheep" ministering to others.
The writer in Hebrews says to PROVOKE one another in doing good deeds (10:24). It's hard to be provoked if you feel like you're the only one doing it. Elijah even was discouraged because he thought he was alone in his efforts (1 Kings 19:14).
Teaching others how to be generous without showing what generosity is, is ineffective. Paul challenged the Corinthians to give what they promised to give and had even told other churches about the amount they promised to raise (2 Corin. 9:2-5). He must have known how much they had given and how much more they needed to give.
There are always people watching. There are always people who know. Always people privy to information. So should you stop giving to the church, giving to those in need, praying at a public restaurant, praying in your life group, because someone will see? Of course not. I think I've blogged on this before. The point is to do good to others in God's name for the sake of truly loving and caring for others and obedience to God whether people are watching or not. Our good deeds are not to be done for show or to please people. But if people are watching or people do see, still keep going strong. You might even encourage them in doing good deeds as well.
(side note for church leaders and pastors: beware that you don't judge someone's spiritual state because you see little of a person's giving, serving, worship, praying or caring for other people, or lord forbid, not come to hear you speak at "church." They are your "sheep" and you are to provoke, rebuke, and encourage them, but they are also to be co-laborers with you in Christ. Love them, get to know them, and they might share with you what's really going on in their life. That's being a true shephard. If you find yourself upset at people's giving, serving or coming to "church," make sure it's because you care about their relationship with God and not because you want them to please you and your ministry.)
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1 comments:
Can we balance these tensions by suggesting the idea is that our motivation for fasting, giving, and praying should never be to be noticed?
In addition to all the things you mention, if we literally did them these things in secret, we just couldn't do them very often because so much of our lives is done in the public eye... And we'd have to begin quite actively lying, to hide them, and lying is hardly a Godly activity.
Sorting out my various motivations is a brutal and difficult activity. It's real work. But it seems important over and over again in my own walk.
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