Applause is as addictive as any drug. Ask any ageing performer or politician. Long after prudence and any semblance of pride would dictate that it was time to get off the stage, they are still appearing, in smaller and smaller venues, craving the rush that comes when the audience responds with a standing ovation. That part of human nature lurks in the shadows to twist the Believer's desire to let the beauty of Jesus shine through him into a pathetic religious performance. The goal of that performance is approval and applause. If you think I'm off base here, consider these words from Jesus Himself.
"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. "When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get.
When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.
"And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
"Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace." (Matthew 6:1-6, The Message)
You're not exempt from pride, nor am I! I confess that more than once when at neat turn of phrase emerges in something I am writing, the thought occurs to me: "Now, that should get somebody's attention!" Isn't that ugly? I am not above the temptation to evaluate a sermon's 'success' more by the remarks of those in the congregation than its fidelity to the Word of God! Ugh! With Paul, I say, "What a wretched man I am. Who will deliver me?" When we take the stage of life as "Good Christian actors," the beauty of Jesus disappears; the blessing of the Spirit evaporates; any glory to Heaven lost.
So the Lord tells us to make certain to include large chunks of secret service, extended time of quiet seclusion, and much solitary prayer in our lives. There, in the secret place, where the only audience is the One, our true self is revealed and, praise God, the Spirit changes us - from glory to glory! Remember, who you are in secret will most surely make its way into the light, sooner or later. Jesus tells us that "out of the heart the mouth speaks." Let's use that principle for good, learning the disciplines of discipleship, cultivating a deep relationship with God where others cannot intrude, where temptation to dance for the crowd cannot reach us. Then, when we emerge to public service and ministry, we will wow'em with the beauty of the Lord, but we won't notice or care if they notice because the incredible joy of receiving His approval will eclipse any need we might feel for men's applause.
Here's a word from the Word. May the Truth inspire you today.
"Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.'" (John 7:37-38, NIV)
Lord, flow from us. Make Your beauty known through our words and actions. May we never try to be what we are not and may we always be authentic so that - come rain, come storm - You will be seen in us. Amen.
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I'm calling out to You:
"There must something more,
Some deeper place to find,
Some secret place to hide,
Where I've not gone before.
Where my soul is satisfied
and my sin is put to death,
and I can hear Your voice
and Your purpose is my choice,
as natural as a breath.
The Love I knew before
when You first touched my life,
I need You to restore,
I want You to revive!
Could You place in my heart
a passion for Jesus;
A hunger that seizes
my passion for You?
My one desire,
my greatest possession,
My only confession,
my passion for You."
Passion For Jesus
Brian Houston
CCLI License No. 810055
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