I would hope not. Matthew 6:3-4 puts it this way, "But when you do merciful deeds, do not let your left hand know what your right hand does, so that your merciful deeds may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret Himself shall reward you openly." Besides, I am saved by the grace of God, not by looking like what someone else percieves a Christian should look like.
Matthew 6 addresses many times that someone might do something (give to the needy, pray, fast, etc) publicly in order to better his own image. I certainly don't think this passage means that we should keep our faith in hiding... just that the opinions of others should never be one of our motivations. In each case, the structure is, "Don't do X out in public like the hypocrites do... it is what you do in private that will be rewarded." Thinking that we should hide everything we do as Christians is taking the idea a little too far, I think.
We should consider the analogy implied in Nicole's quote. The deeds of criminals are usually public, but the guilty party is concealed until they come under close scrutiny by investigators. Ideally, our own deeds should be take on a similar structure: results that are public, but no "claim to fame," so to speak. We shouldn't succumb to pride and flaunt the good in our lives, if for no other reason than that we aren't responsible anyway... it is just God working through us. However, that doesn't mean that evidence of our involvement won't there for those who look hard enough.
Grace is sufficient, and no judgment by anyone other than God matters in the end... but I still hope that I have progressed far enough in my walk that if I ever came under serious scrutiny, my relationship with Christ would be evident.
I would hope not. Matthew 6:3-4 puts it this way, "But when you do merciful deeds, do not let your left hand know what your right hand does, so that your merciful deeds may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret Himself shall reward you openly." Besides, I am saved by the grace of God, not by looking like what someone else percieves a Christian should look like.
ReplyDeleteI hope so.
ReplyDeleteMatthew 6 addresses many times that someone might do something (give to the needy, pray, fast, etc) publicly in order to better his own image. I certainly don't think this passage means that we should keep our faith in hiding... just that the opinions of others should never be one of our motivations. In each case, the structure is, "Don't do X out in public like the hypocrites do... it is what you do in private that will be rewarded." Thinking that we should hide everything we do as Christians is taking the idea a little too far, I think.
We should consider the analogy implied in Nicole's quote. The deeds of criminals are usually public, but the guilty party is concealed until they come under close scrutiny by investigators. Ideally, our own deeds should be take on a similar structure: results that are public, but no "claim to fame," so to speak. We shouldn't succumb to pride and flaunt the good in our lives, if for no other reason than that we aren't responsible anyway... it is just God working through us. However, that doesn't mean that evidence of our involvement won't there for those who look hard enough.
Grace is sufficient, and no judgment by anyone other than God matters in the end... but I still hope that I have progressed far enough in my walk that if I ever came under serious scrutiny, my relationship with Christ would be evident.