By John D. Pierce
A man with leprosy came and knelt before Jesus and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. However, I want to take a quick selfie to post on Facebook so everyone will know of my power and goodness compared to others.” Matthew 8:2-4 revised
Anyone else bothered by the way every “good deed” gets posted on social media?
I don’t recall Jesus saying we should give a cup of cold water in his name — and then present photographic evidence with the recipient of our charitable ways.
“Look at me!” just never seemed to make it into Jesus’ examples or declarations.
Perhaps his words in Matthew 6:1-4 (NIRV without my revision) are instructive for those of us living in an over-information age:
“Be careful not to do good deeds in front of other people. Don’t do those deeds to be seen by others. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. When you give to needy people, do not announce it by having trumpets blown. Do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They announce what they do in the synagogues and on the streets. They want to be honored by other people. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward. When you give to needy people, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Then your giving will be done secretly. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly.”
Director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and former executive editor and publisher at Good Faith Media.