There is a sense of importance that comes from having other people see you doing something, whether it is singing a song, preaching at an event or even helping with a charity organisation. But seeking worth from other people is dangerous for your spiritual life.
It is equally as dangerous to feel the need to always make your worship and pursuit of God public. God doesn’t want you to only worship Him in public, when everyone is watching.
He wants you to worship Him in private as well, when the only eyes on you are His.
Are You Worshiping God in Private?
And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in the secret will reward you openly.
Matthew 6:5-6 (NKJV)
It’s all very well standing up in front of a crowd and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and worshiping God. But it all means nothing, if you are not doing the same in private when nobody is watching you.
As Matthew 6:5-6 reveals, God desires us to worship Him and pray to Him and praise Him, in the secret place. Not just the public place.
But for some, the public place seems to be the one they turn to more often.
The public place is more exciting. It comes with recognition and fame and applause. But the secret place is quieter, and comes with neither of those things.
Yet, it is the secret place you should lean towards because your faith is not between you and man. It’s a personal relationship between you and God.
Imagine you knew a husband who showered his wife with praise, spoke highly of her and treated her well in public. But back at home, when no one was watching, he simply ignored his wife and continued on as if he wasn’t married at all.
What would you think of such a relationship?
You would instantly conclude that it was a false one, nothing but pretence and show. The same would be true of your relationship with God if you only sought Him in public but never in private.
In fact, if you were to do this, you would be no better than the hypocrites spoken of in Matthew chapter 6. And you would be just like the elders of Israel.
What The Elders Of Israel Did In The Dark
In the Book of Ezekiel, chapter 8, we find the prophet Ezekiel sitting in his home with the elders of Judah.
As elders, these men were supposed to be filled with wisdom and play an important role in leading the people in worshiping God. (Numbers 11:16) The same was true of their counterparts in Israel.
But in a vision, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up Ezekiel and transports him deep into the inner court of Jerusalem in Israel. Once there, Ezekiel saw “engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up.” (Ezekiel 8:10-11, ESV)
And then the Lord said to Him “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, “The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.” (Ezekiel 8:12, NKJV)
Like some people today, the elders of Israel made a show of being godly men in public. But in the dark, in the secret place, in private, they were idol worshippers and enemies of God.
What a terrible position they were in.
It is the kind of position you do not want to be in.
As a Christian you should not be living a double life, doing one thing in the open and another thing behind closed doors. You should be living one life.
Living One Life For God
You should pursue God in public the same way you do in private. This is what it means to live one life for God.
Praise Him as loudly.
Love Him as deeply.
Dance for Him as freely.
Talk about Him as excitedly, when people are watching and especially when they aren’t.
Always remembering that for as long as God’s ears are open to you, your song is still worth singing. As long as His eyes are on you, your dance is still worth dancing. And as long as His attention is on you, everything you do is still worth doing.
Don’t look to man and the public place for honour and validation. You already receive it all from God. (John 5:44)
So continue to seek God in the private place, in the secret place, knowing that He who is in the secret place sees you, knows you and loves you.
