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Applause...

             “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1) 

            Virtue Signaling: the public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one's good character or social conscience or the moral correctness of one's position on a particular issue. 

            Let’s start with the operational reality here. Years ago, I saw a man in my yard, spraying chemicals.  Before I could get my mind around what I was seeing and check with my father to see if he’d hired the guy for some reason, the man was at my door, demanding payment not just for that application but for the previous one. I told him we’d never hired him and had not had previous treatments. He gave my house number but named a different street (it’s an easy error because part of that street is straight up the hill from my house but curves west a few houses above mine.)

            If someone you did not hire mowed your neighbor’s lawn, what would you think of that person coming to your door and expecting payment? Would that opinion change if you watched your neighbor pay him before he came to your door to demand payment? There should be no surprise that if we do something for one reward we aren’t owed a reward from someone else.

            But, some people are motivated by what others will think of them. They virtue signal, showing up for something so that everyone recognizes what wonderful, good people they are. This isn’t the same as showing up out of a sense of duty. As a resident in my park, I should show up at business meetings, but I don’t show up to impress everyone with how much I support the park (unlike them…). I’m not saying folks in my park show up to be seen. It’s just an illustration.

            Within the last week, I had a “conversation” about this with someone who basically said that it was wrong for a Christian to pray in a group. The only way a Christian was allowed to pray was hidden in a prayer closet. I don’t disagree with him entirely. I’m uncomfortable with the “Meet Us at The Pole” types of meetings. I am also uneasy with raising my hands in worship. Then there are those many challenges online of “If you’re not ashamed of Christ, like or share…” This last one reminds me of Satan’s temptation of Christ in the wilderness, “If you are the Son of God…” But the key here is motivation. If it’s your goal to be seen or admired by people, don’t expect more than that.

            At the same time, as I pointed out at the time, Scripture never says that we are to only pray in solitude and do everything in our power to make our Christianity invisible to the public eye. It all comes back to motivation. If your interest is in the applause of man, you may earn it without getting the applause of heaven. If you earn the applause of heaven, chances are quite good that you won’t earn the applause of man.

 

 

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