I want to talk about something that certainly is not unique to social media but is something that happens a whole lot on social media. I want to talk about the sometimes so called “humble brag”.
I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Someone does something for someone and then does a post where they tell you all about what they did and how good it made them feel and how fortunate they were to be able to do it, etcetera.
Before I say anything about this, let’s see what Jesus said about it, in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6
1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Jesus said “do not sound a trumpet before you”. The modern equivalent would be “do not do a FaceBook or Instagram post”. Notice that He indicated that it is the hypocrites who do this, people who outwardly act like they are interested in God’s glory but, in reality, are interested in their own glory. He will share His glory with no one (Isaiah 42:8). Nothing good comes from the pursuit of one’s own glory, even when the efforts seem noble.
When people humble brag, they will often try to spiritualize it, usually by saying something like “I just felt so blessed to be able to do this”. It may have made you feel good to do it but openly talking about it is not where the true blessing comes from. If you do that, then Jesus said “you have no reward from your Father in heaven”. If you truly want to be blessed then Jesus said to do what you do in secret and He said “your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly”.
I get it. When you do something nice for someone, it makes you feel good and you want to tell people. We may even say that we are giving God the glory and, in that way, justify it to others and ourselves. As Christians, we have to be really careful about this though. Even when we say we are “giving God the glory”, are we really? Or, in our heart, are we saying “look how Godly I am”? No matter how we look at this, there’s really no way around the fact that Jesus said for our charitable deeds to be done in secret (Matthew 6:4). If He wants to somehow make known what we have done, in order to glorify Himself, He can handle that, without any help from us.
We are certainly supposed to show the same love to the world and to each other that Christ showed us but we must do it to glorify Him, not ourselves. As much as we might like to, we can’t have it both ways. It’s either about Him or it’s about us, not both. Sure, it feels great to get praise from our friends and family but wouldn’t you prefer to get your rewards from Him?
So, yes, Christianity, if truly lived out, does involve good deeds. However, Christianity is not about good deeds. It’s about the Lordship of Christ in one’s life. Is He your Lord? If not or if you really don’t know, please visit the “The Most Important Thing” section of this website. May the peace that only He can give be with you.
