For Best Results Be Silent Be Secretive and Private

Mark 8:23 (NIV) – He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

Mark 8:25-26 (NIV) – 25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

We live at a time where many people seek celebrity status at all costs. Celebrity is defined by publicity and fame. Celebrity means you are known in details by the public. Celebrity means you can be recognized by most people. There is very little or no privacy in a celebrity life.

Celebrities are mostly in sports and entertainment. That means we keep seeing the daily as we go through news media. We keep getting inspired to be like them.

Other celebrities are public figures like politicians, some industry leaders and even some religious leaders. They are constant news items. They are projected as symbols of success and wealth. They almost become the embodiment of a life that majority dream of.

Celebrities are so influential. Their dressing becomes fashion. Their pictures are published all over. Their speeches and statements are magnified. Their lives are laid bare for news and entertainment. As a result the desire for publicity grows. The desire to be a celebrity burns within many of us.

With the current easy access to social media, many people are trying to be celebrities. Dangerous and unreasonable stunts are pulled to attract masses to one’s account. Exposing one’s nudity. Revealing secrets of personal life. Dangerous and daring attacks and abuse of people in authority, etc. All in an attempt to become a celebrity. Getting arrested becomes part of the publicity stunt for some.

Jesus recommended a private secretive silent life. Jesus performed miracles and told the beneficiaries not to tell anyone. There is greater impact when it is whispered than when you publicize.

Matthew 8:4 (NIV) – Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Mark 7:36-37 (NIV) – 36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Luke 5:14 (NIV) – Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

When you publicize, you call attention to yourself. Attention should be to God not yourself, not any human being. Publicizing makes you the center of attraction. When it is private and whispered, curiosity will gravitate towards God’s actions in your life. Therefore keep it secret silent and private!

Jesus heals a blind man by taking him out of the crowded village. Out into the privacy outside the village. Then Jesus heals him and tells him to tell no one.

If Jesus was after celebrity status, he would have healed him in the presence of the crowds. Jesus would have encouraged him to tell everyone and bring more and more blind men for healing. But Jesus kept it secret silent and private. The impact was greater and more lasting!

Matthew 12:38-39 (NIV) – 38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

When people asked for a miracle for the sake of it, Jesus refused to perform the miracle. Jesus refused to seek public attention through miracle working. Jesus refused to get publicity from such stunts. Jesus did not advertise His miracle working. Those who came with need, He helped and asked them to keep it silent.

Matthew 8:33-34 (NIV) – 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Jesus healed the demon possessed man. The village mates of the healed man denied Jesus access to their village. They had just lost so many pigs. A mad man had been healed. They didn’t like all these. They asked Jesus to leave their village and town. Jesus in turn asked the healed man to go and preach in those villages that Jesus couldn’t access.

Mark 5:17-20 (NIV) – 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

The healed man was to go and preach about what God had done for him. The man did and the impact was great and unforgettable. The man was to speak out because Jesus had been denied access. There is a place for publicizing and there is a place for keeping it secret silent and private. It’s good to know the difference!

Matthew 6:1-2 (NIV) – 1 “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. 2 “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 6:6 (NIV) – But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:18 (NIV) – so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

The sermon on the mount was given by Jesus to set the tone and standard of lifestyle of His disciples. Jesus emphasized several times the need for secrecy silence and privacy. Righteous acts, helping the needy, praying and fasting, must all be done in high level silence, secrecy and privacy!

Public stunts are designed to draw attention to ourselves. Yet only God should be the center of attraction. By seeking publicity, we compete with God for attention. We make ourselves idols and gods. That is why we must shun that desire for celebrity status.

When we do righteous acts secretly, help the needy in secret, pray in secret and fast in secret, it has a greater spiritual impact on us. We become closer to God. We become better believers!

An inward drive to achieve a goal is stronger when you keep your plans secret. The moment you announce your plans, the inward drive weakens or even dies. Secret of achievement is to only talk about results and not plans. Keep it silent, secret and private, and excellence will be your portion!

May God help us to keep it silent, secret and private. May we know the difference of when to go public and when to keep it low. May God help us overcome the temptation for celebrity status that causes us to publicize even what shouldn’t be publicized. In Jesus’s name, Amen!

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