What's Done in Secret...

Day 212: Matthew 6

Over the past several years, I have become more and more interested in spiritual disciplines and how they form people to be more Christlike. We are all familiar--at least in name--with the disciplines of fasting, praying, and Bible study. But there are others that are less familiar. One spiritual discipline that fascinates me is that of secrecy. Secrecy as a spiritual discipline isn't about keeping someone's secret. Rather, it has to do with doing good deeds in secret--without telling anyone about them. So often, we are motivated to do good by our own selfish desires. We give to the needy--publicly--so that people will see it and know what we've done. We make announcements or we are honored by organizations for our giving. We give--and we are recognized for it.

But this spiritual discipline of secrecy isn't about being recognized; it's about doing things for others without anyone knowing about it--even the person for whom you've done it. This spiritual discipline can be considered one because it takes discipline not to share with others good things you have done. If you mow your neighbor's lawn because it needs to be done, you want your spouse to know. Or if you provide food for families in need, you may do so out of desires that are not so pure. Sure, we try to have good intentions--we are helping people. But when we practice the discipline of secrecy, we can see how so many of our intentions--especially good ones--are actually based on selfish motivations.

In Matthew 6, Jesus addresses this discipline of secrecy when he talks about giving to the poor and when teaching on how we should pray. I challenge all of us to practice doing things for others for their sake rather than ours. This discipline is one way to learn this lesson.