Practicing Secrecy in an Age of Influenceনমুনা

Reward: Settling for the Temporary at the Expense of the Eternal Yesterday, we considered how the practice of secrecy can help us resist our cultural tendency to want others to see our good deeds. Today, we will consider why we often choose the temporary praise of man over the eternal praise of God. Looking at Matthew 6 from a different vantage point, we see a pattern emerge as Jesus teaches the people about the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven. Sandwiched between His warning to the Pharisees and His teaching on giving, praying, and fasting is a statement we would do well to note. "Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward." In Matthew 6:1, we read, "Beware of practicing your piety before others to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven “ (emphasis mine). Again, the text here should cause us to lean in close, considering the seriousness of Jesus' words. Jesus is clear that those who practice their piety (think spiritual disciplines) before man to be seen and praised will have no reward in heaven—not a small reward, but no reward. Sadly, the righteous people of Jesus' day sought praise from all the wrong places. They chose the praise of man, which would fade in an instant, over the praise of God, which would last for all of eternity. The challenging question for us today is, are we really all that different from the hypocrites that Jesus was addressing in this text? Why do we so desperately want others to see and praise us for our good deeds? Why are we so eager and willing to exchange an eternal reward from God in Heaven for a momentary reward from others here on Earth? There are certainly a myriad of answers to such a complex topic. One reason worth considering is that we are a culture conditioned to choose instant gratification whenever possible. In doing so, we miss out on the reward the Father wants to give us—both now and in the future. The point of practicing any spiritual discipline, like giving, praying, and fasting, is to allow God to use these acts of surrender to transform us more and more into the likeness of Jesus. More of Jesus is the reward! Practicing the discipline of secrecy protects us like a fence around a garden from settling for the temporary praise of others.