Spiritual Disciplines: Secrecy (Heather) When I first saw this spiritual discipline I was confused. I was familiar with Matthew 6:3 which states, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret” (NIV). But, to be honest, I really never delved deeply into the “secret” part of this verse. When I did begin thinking more deeply about the secrecy aspect, it seemed to be in direct conflict to other verses in the Bible that command us to “let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15, NIV). I wondered how we could possible give glory to God if we kept all our acts of kindness, grace, mercy, and love a secret? Here is the key: “We allow [God] to decide when our deeds will be known and when our light will be noticed” (Dallas Willard, The Spirit of Disciplines, p. 173). We have one job on this earth: obey God and fulfill His Will for us. That’s it. That job description does not include coordinating our own PR. We are not responsible for making sure everyone knows we have obeyed God and followed through on His desires for our lives. We are only responsible for doing it. And, the spiritual discipline of secrecy recommends we fulfill these deeds as quietly, unobtrusively, and with the least attention from others as possible. This way, we know the light that shines through us is truly God’s and not one born of our fleshly desire for attention, accolades, and approval by others. Consider Jesus. Remember, the spiritual disciplines are meant to be practices that enable us to live our lives more like He lived His. The New Testament is full of stories where Jesus tried to slip quietly into town, work His miracles, and leave. He often told people to keep His miracles a secret (e.g., when He healed the man with leprosy in Mark 1:40-45). Jesus never once told others about His miracles and acts of mercy, grace, and love. The acts spoke for themselves, word spread quickly, and His light ALWAYS shone brightly without Him have to tell anyone to pay attention to Him. Another critical aspect of Jesus’s life: even when He did receive attention and accolades, He didn’t stick around to bask in the glory and praise. After visiting a town and performing miracles, Jesus then chose to retreat to silence, solitude, and prayer to ensure His heart remained aligned with His Father’s and He could continue to do His Father’s Will on earth (Luke 5:16). When we develop a deeper relationship with God, we are able to focus on His approval only. He is the only one we should aim to please with our lives. If we aim to please our fellow man we are setting ourselves up for heartache, self-doubt, and confusion because the approval of others is fleeting, transient, and unreliable. Consider Matthew 6:1: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” In the past, I have always read “to be seen by them” as a description of when and where one actually performs something, literally, in front of other people. But, after researching the spiritual discipline of secrecy, I believe this statement “to be seen by them” is more a statement of motivation. It isn’t so much about making sure no one is around before you do what God has asked you to do; it is more about the motivation behind what you are doing. Are you doing it because other people are watching and you want to impress? Or are you doing it solely because it will be pleasing to God? If you continue to read Matthew 6:1-18, it provides several examples of good deeds (giving to the needy, praying, fasting) that should be done only to please God and not to impress other people. After each example, Jesus gives an example of what NOT to do: “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by others” (Matthew 6:1-2a). Jesus goes on to say, “Truly I tell you they have received their reward in full” (Matthew 6:2b). In other words, if you give to the needy just because others are watching and so you can tell others about the good deed you have done, then the attention and accolades you receive from them are your ONLY reward. There will be no additional reward for this deed waiting for you in Heaven. It doesn’t mean there will be no rewards for you in Heaven, but, this good deed has been wiped from the slate because you already received attention from other humans here on earth. Fortunately, Jesus goes on to tell us if we give to the needy, keep it between us and God, then our Father “who sees what is done in secret, will reward [us]” (Matthew 6:4). I don’t know about you, but I am certain the rewards God has waiting for me in His Kingdom far exceed any attention, accolades, acknowledgement, or pat on the back I could possibly receive here on earth. I have come to view the spiritual discipline of secrecy as one of liberation. As Dallas Willard writes, “In the practice of secrecy, we experience a continuing relationship with God independent of the opinions of others” (p. 172). As long as we know in the deepest depths of our hearts that our actions are aligned with God’s Will, it doesn’t matter what other people think. The heavy weight of public opinion has been lifted from our shoulders. Our only concern, our primary goal for our entire lives is to please God and God alone. Praise God! Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven….Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7: 21, 24)
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 10:09:34 +0000
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