Private Practice

Matthew 6:1

Some things you just need to keep to yourself. 

I do not think I need to go into great detail here. You know the stuff you need to keep private. There are items of personal upkeep. There are private conversations between you and your beloved--good and bad. There is a reason for clothing. There is a reason why God gave us the ability to whisper. There are reasons why a bathroom has a door (and a lock) on it. 

Now, it probably strikes us more than a bit ironic to mention this next one in the context of worship--a very public event, open for any and all to see--faith is also something that needs to have a big chunk labeled “PRIVATE PRACTICE.” 

Christ said a lot in the one line of the Sermon on the Mount we read this morning (which is why it is the sole verse for meditation today). Taking it apart will allow us to find the balance between what is a necessary community work and what is just as necessary a matter for individual, personal work within faith.

First, there is the term “righteousness.” Christ, being a rabbi, has a specific meaning in mind as he uses that term. Righteousness was the first of two foci for the practice of faith (the other being justice). Righteousness was a one-word summation of the first four of the Ten Commandments--those commandments that dealt with the human relationship to God. To be righteous was to be in proper relationship to God--i.e., acknowledging the oneness of God, accepting God’s absolute sovereignty over life, accepting that life by God’s will (love) is the only real and meaningful path of life, and giving God an intentional portion of one’s life (a day of worship, a portion of all one has, etc.). 

To practice righteousness is to live by this standard.

What might such a life look like?

A person living by righteousness will take time for daily prayer, for listening to God, talking to and with God, and being in the presence of God will be essential for a peaceful existence within oneself. A person living by righteousness will seek to meet others in love, for there will be the recognition that God meets us in love in every moment. A person living by righteousness will treasure the earth and seek its welfare, for it is the fount of God’s providence. A person living by righteousness will make being in worship a priority, for they will know its necessity for a balanced life--worship gives us the boost, the cleansing, the reset, if you will, for making it through the other six days of the week. Besides, it brings us into the fellowship of others who are also making the attempt to live by and with God--community helps! A person living by righteousness will make compassion and generosity a part of their lives, for they will know deeply the mercy of God in their own lives. 

You get the picture.

So where is the problem?

That comes in the next thought Christ adds to this lesson--we will practice righteousness in the presence of others. That is inevitable, for we are always with or near other people who take note of us, even cursorily. An here is the challenge. We have an audience and it is human tendency to play to the audience. Three year olds will play up and out for Mommy on the playground--Look at me! Look at me! Adolescents will play out for their peers--I’m cool, look at me! Grown ups do it, too--I sure hope the boss notices that I have stayed at work until 800 PM every day this week and that I haven’t had a sick day in two years and that I always speak up at pitch meetings! We even do it at church--I haven’t missed a Sunday in three decades, and I give a double-tithe--now elect me to the board!

And that is the problem. 

It is really just a matter of focus. We do all the right things, but they are no longer for the right reasons. 

The Apostle Paul makes this point beautifully and poetically in 1 Corinthians 13 wherein he lists astounding moments of faith one right after the other, but then he empties each of them with a simple dismissal--if I have no love, it means nothing. 

That is Christ’s point exactly. As we engage in the work and application of our faith, where is our focus? Does God remain at the center of all that we say and do? Or are we caught in the need to make an impression? Are we hoping everyone around us will note what good workers we are? Do we want them to marvel at our piety? Do we listen for the comments as we take our place in the pews of how wonderful we are in church? 

So, how do we maintain our focus?

Go back and really dig into the concept of righteousness. Look at those practices mentioned above that mark righteousness as such. Now realize that the most effective means by which to practice them is to take them as if they were totally private practice. Pray. Pray at home. Pray in the car by yourself. When in public, learn the art of praying with eyes wide open and mouth closed. It is about you and God, right? So keep it that way. Learn to meet others in love so that as it happens it is simply a natural expression of who and what you are, no big deal, just the way you like meet other people--regular prayer helps make it so. Our great-grandparents called it “being nice.” Use your recycling bin, compost, and buy only what you need--again, no big deal, but simple practice of caring for the earth. Come to church to come to church, to be with your friends here, and to get that needed communal jolt to keep going, that basking in God’s presence--all unselfconsciously. Give because it is the right thing to do, no more, no less. There is no need for drama in our practice of stewardship. It is simply thanking God for all God does and is. It is committing ourselves to God’s work and worship. Give what you are able, not worrying about what anyone might think or what anyone else is doing. It is love. Do it for love alone.

We will always wrestle with our need for acknowledgement. We will always deal with the nagging voice demanding recognition. Silence that voice by listening for God. If it is love, it is of God. God knows that. God loves that. And that is more than enough to make it worth doing.

Now, try it.