“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. Matthew 6:2
If you’re doing what you’re doing for ‘the show,’ don’t be disappointed when ‘the show’ is all you get. I hope you prosper, and I hope it’s satisfying for you. But don’t be disappointed, or angry, or vengeful if that doesn’t happen. Indeed, though I don’t want to antagonize someone in their hour of despair, if ‘the show’ was the only reason people did things, then they got what they selfishly wanted and shouldn’t expect more.
That’s easy for me to say because I’m not not famous; I’m not wealthy; I’m not glamourous. But I am proud, and I like the warmth of the spotlight, and those are two qualities possessed by the people who crave ‘the show’. Boil away all the self-justification and you find idolatry at the core of why such people do what they do. That and a heavy bag of insecurities. That’s a ripe combination for the deceiver to mess with our minds.
Our greatest emotional need here on the Third Rock is to be known, to be relevant, to be ‘seen.’ That isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it isn’t even sinful. I bet if you asked any celebrity or social influencer why they do what they do, at the end of the discussion, you’d find that they want to be seen and known. After all, we all want to live lives that mean something so that, a hundred years from now, our lives mean more than gravestones in a field. We want to be remembered. Yet, think back one hundred years and we could probably list only several hundred movie stars worldwide whose performances are still recorded in some book, or in old films, or available on Google even though many, many thousands of people worked in the silent film industry. And what were the names of the workers who built the Jewish Temples, or the pyramids? Lost in obscurity. Sobering?
Here’s a way to be seen, to be known, to be remembered: share your faith in Jesus. Do it today. Do it with just one person and mean it. Share what you believe with someone and invest your time in them. Cultivate a relationship; nurture a friendship; build a life and help someone build theirs. Do these things because we were made by God to live in community. Share faith in Jesus, even without saying His name. Share it in what you do. Help someone else on their way through life. Do it today, then rinse and repeat. That faith in Jesus is the only thing that can save us from living unremembered, anonymous lives because God sees us and remembers us and always will. More than anything, it shows.
For more reading: Matthew 6:3
Lord Jesus, help me to share You.
Practical Proverbs 