hide or shine?

Today we read from Matthew 6:1-24 in the One Year Bible. And what we read seems pretty clear - pretty straightforward. And I've heard many Christians QUOTE this reading when they see other Christians who are publicly doing good works.

Jesus says it many ways, but it boils down to this: don't do your good works for man's approval. Don't "make sure" everyone knows you're doing good so that they'll praise you. If you do, He says, that's all the reward you're gonna get.

However.

He also very CLEARLY says in Matthew 5:16 that we SHOULD shine our light so that others can see it, and give glory to God. Hide your light under a bushel? NO! You're gonna let it shine, right?

So which is it? Hide or shine?

Well, it all comes down to motive. If you're doing your good works to glorify God, and to prompt others to do what you're doing (see Paul for more examples of this), then you're doing it right. You're shining your light. But if you're doing your good works just so other people will say "He's such a good guy. Look how great he is!" Then you're doing it for wrong reasons, and you should hide your good works.

But one thing we should ALL take into consideration is this: the fact that Jesus tells us to do our good deeds without looking for approval means that MOST of the good deeds done, today and throughout history, we don't ever hear about. Keep that in mind. All of those teachers, missionaries, priests, nuns, pastors, youth workers.... working hard, day in and day out, every day of the year for all of their lives.... we never hear about them. We only hear about the bad ones.

Keep that in mind next time you hear some bad news. There is so much good news that you never hear about!

God, thanks for teaching us when to hide and when to shine.