Taking Off the Mask and Showing My True Face

“Make sure that none of you act out your right relationship with God in front of other people because then human praise will be the only reward you’ll ever receive from your Father in heaven! So whenever you give money to a needy person, don’t toot your own horn and draw attention to yourself. That’s what hypocrites do. They like to be seen being religious in the churches and on the street, so that people will say good things about them. Amen! I’m telling all of you that these people won’t be rewarded for their actions in any other way! Whenever you donate to the poor don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing! That way what you’ve donated will stay a secret. Then your Father, who sees every secret, will reward you for your kindness.

“Don’t be like the hypocrites when you pray! They love to be seen praying in church and leading prayer groups on the street corners so that they’ll look good to others. Amen! I’m telling all of you that this is the only reward that they’re ever going to get! But when you pray, go into your bedroom closet and lock the door! Pray to your Father in secret. Then your Father, who sees every secret, will answer your prayer.

“Whenever you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites who become all gloomy! They pout and grimace so that people will notice that they are fasting. Amen! I’m telling all of you that they’ve already received the only reward that they’re ever going to get! Instead, comb your hair and wash your face when you’re fasting, so that people won’t ever know that something is different and you won’t let anyone know that you’re fasting. Your Father, who sees every secret, will know that you are fasting and he will reward you.

~ As Matthew Tells It
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheNewPeaceTreaty.html

It is who we are when we are alone that matters. Most of us do not seem to be hiding the good things we do for others, but instead we focus on hiding the sins we do. We will go to church, we will pray with others, we will do the proper “religious” thing when we are around the proper “religious” crowd, but when we get home, we may be someone who is completely different.

God does not just own an hour of my week and maybe ten percent of my income. God owns all of me, all that I have, all of my time. God owns my private life as well as my public life. So what I do in the privacy of my own home matters.

So what am I trying to keep secret? Am I trying to keep my personal, private rebellion against God secret, while publicly submitting to God? If so, then my public acts of piety, faith, “righteousness” or whatever we want to call them are just for show. I am doing them so that others will think I’m a good person, or that I’m a special person, or so they will praise me. When they do, I will have what I was looking for -- I will get my reward. But if I instead do my acts of piety and faith in private, so that others don’t know that I’m doing them, then I am not doing them to be praised. I am instead doing them because they are the right thing to do, or because I am doing them for God, who sees the secret things I do and who will reward me for what I am doing.

Jesus seems to be saying to me: “You’re going to get what you’re looking for. You will be rewarded with praise on way or the other. But would you rather be praised by the One who has ALL power, and who is eternal, or would you rather be praised by finite, fallible human beings who are like the grass of the field " here today and gone tomorrow?”

This does not mean that it is wrong to do things in public. It does not mean that it is wrong to help someone publicly if they need help, or to pray with others publicly, or to take on a spiritual commitment or discipline in public. It just means that my private life has to match my public life. I am one person in public and another in private, then I am a hypocrite " a play actor. I am wearing a mask and playing a role. The word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek word for the masks actors wore in plays.

Jesus is telling me that even though I may be a very religious person in public, it may just be a mask. It is what I am doing in private that shows my true face. Actors may receive great applause for their performance -- that is what they are seeking " and I may receive great applause for my prayers, preaching, words, deeds, whatever I am doing, but if I am no longer that person when I retreat into my private quarters, then I AM NOT THAT PERSON! The applause of the crowd is all I will ever get " and the Passion of Christ reminds me that the crowd is fickle.

So who do I serve? Do I serve God, or do I serve an audience? It’s the difference between humility and pride. Someone once told me a long time ago that humility is when you can do something good for someone and not tell anyone about it -- if possible, not even the person you’re doing the good thing for. For me that can be tough to do " not only because my pride wants everyone to know what a good person I am and that I am worthy of applause, but because it feels good to do good things for people, and it’s hard to keep it contained. But like most things I’ve learned, it requires discipline, and the more I make it a part of my life, the easier it is not to tell others about it because it just becomes a part of my daily routine. I don’t go around telling people that I brushed my teeth or that I had coffee this morning -- I just do those things as part of my day. When I can be humble without announcing how humble I am, then I can truly be humble.

I guess, for me, it comes down to integrity. Integrity is when who I say I am is in accordance with how I behave. Integrity is when my values and my actions align. Jesus is telling me that integrity is also when the person I am at home and the person I am in Church are the same person, then I will stop “acting” like a Christian, and become a disciple.

The Church is not a building or a place to meet, the Church is THE PEOPLE WHO MEET IN THE NAME OF CHRIST. If the Church is the people, then wherever the people go, there too is the Church. This means when I am home by myself, or with my family, or with close friends, I still behave as if I am in Church because Church is not a place I go to for an hour or so a week, it is a place within me at all times " therefore, wherever I am, Church is in session.