Do Good in Secret

Each one of us are given different gifts by God to serve him with during this life. No gift is more important than another. God will call one person to be a pastor, another to be a worship leader and a third to direct cars in the parking lot. One person might be given the gift of administration and another the gift of pastoring, both are equally important to God.

God also makes it clear in the Bible that we should not to use our gifts to strive for personal glory. The Bible calls us to do good in secret. Why? It’s so easy for us humans to make it all about ourselves. How often do we see a news story about how some famous person has given a big donation to a certain cause? Practicing your generosity in front of others is one of the best things you can do for PR. Most companies feel compelled to give to charity, philanthropy is often used as a form of public relations or advertising. Philanthropy is a great way to promote a company’s image or brand, the same is true for an individual. God is not unfamiliar with our human tendencies to use “doing good” for self-advancement. The book of Matthew reads: “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1 NLT) 

During the past three years I have been on a journey to discover my purpose in life. When I understood what God is calling me to do with my life it became clear that pretty much everything he is asking me to do is “behind the scenes” type of work. That’s funny to me because I know one of my weaknesses is wanting to tell everyone about all the good I’m doing in my life. Let’s just face it, there’s a kick we get when others look up to us or give us praise. The kick can become addictive unless we are careful.

If I do good to others simply because I care, not because I want to self-promote, then there is no reason for me to tell the world about it. But not everybody has this problem, some people can serve God from a stage without it going to their head. We all have different gifts and different weaknesses. One of my weaknesses is wanting personal glory from what I do, which is why it makes perfect sense to me why God decided to place me behind the scenes. It’s also very freeing when you stop living for the praise that people can give you and start living for God alone. People are hard to please, God is not. People only see what’s done in public, God sees all the work I do in private. There is not one good deed done in secret that God does not take notice of in my life. When I wake up He is there, when I go to bed He is there. All the blood, sweat and tears, none of it is wasted when I live for God alone. People might not always give us the praise or recognition our work deserves but God notices everything. He will remember every single little thing you have done for Him.