In the Secret Place
Dave Faust
Are you good at keeping secrets? KFC® carefully guards Colonel Sanders' secret recipe of herbs and spices. There's a deodorant called Secret®, in case you don't want anyone to know you're trying to smell good. Football coaches don't reveal any more than they have to about their game plan or their injured players so they won't give any advantage to the opposing team. If you've ever been on the receiving end of a surprise party, you may have been amazed how well your family and friends could keep you in the dark.
Secrecy, though, isn't standard operating procedure in the Christian life. The Bible tells us not to participate in shameful deeds which "the disobedient do in secret" (Ephesians 5:11-12). On the contrary, "Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light" (John 3:21). Christians have nothing to hide. We can be ourselves, knowing that the Lord has accepted us by his grace.
And yet, it's important how we conduct ourselves in the secret realm of the soul. Jesus warned, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1). Three times he observed that "your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" when you give, pray, and fast with proper motives (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18). Some say image is everything, but Jesus insisted that image is nothing if our secret lives don't match our public lives.
There are times, of course, when others will see what you do to serve God. If you lead a Bible class or a worship service . . . if you pray in a restaurant before eating a meal . . . if your neighbors see you leaving for church on Sunday morning . . . if your tax advisor knows how much you gave to charity last year . . . you can't prevent others from seeing you serve the Lord.
But Jesus focuses on our motivation—why we do what we do. The goal isn't to have others say "what a great guy you are," but "what a great God you serve!"
In Matthew 6:1, "to be seen by them" translates the Greek theathenai, related to our word for "theatrical" or "doing theatrics." Jesus is saying, "Don't practice your faith theatrically to win the applause of the audience." Instead:
Live for an audience of one. Our goal must be to please the Lord above all else.
Join the Secret Service. Discover the joy of serving God without fanfare. There's a special delight in doing the right thing whether anyone notices or not—offering an anonymous gift or an act of kindness without receiving any recognition at all.
Appreciate the personal presence of God. If you're a preacher, before you speak to the congregation, first spend time alone with the Lord in the privacy of your inner room. If you're a worship leader, don't try to lead others before the throne of God until you first have spent time there one-on-one. You may be a talented teacher, but before you face your class make sure you come face-to-face with the Father.
God calls us to serve him in public, but first we need to serve him in the privacy of the inner world where no one sees but the Lord himself.
This column first appeared in The Lookout on Feb 4, 2007.
In the Middle of It All
The world’s largest inland sea links Europe with Africa and the Middle East, tying together the influential cultures of Rome, Greece, Israel, and Egypt. The ancients called it Mediterranean, from the Latin *mediterraneus* (“midland”)—*medius* (“middle”) plus *terra* (“land, earth”). The ancients thought of the Mediterranean as the “sea in the middle of the earth.”
In Touch with the Sheep
While going through some old files recently, I came across a letter that made me chuckle. It was from the president of an oil company who was trying to recruit potential salespeople. "I have reason to believe that you are interested in a sales position," he claimed. He was "looking for a person who appreciates prosperity"—someone willing to call on "a stable, dignified, high-class type of trade." Funny, though: the letter was addressed to my son Matt, who was four years old at the time.