Sometimes the godly are too secretive and the world grows suspicious, wondering what they’re up to. Wisdom calls for a balance and a consistency between what we do in secret and what we do in public. We shouldn’t perform publicly for show, and neither should we hide genuine godliness. We represent Him, and we should represent Him often and well. 

Jesus chastised the Pharisees for performing their charitable deeds and prayers on the street corners in order to receive glory from men. He recommended that they move it to the closet for a while to see if they were as pious in secret as they were in public. Hypocrisy always has a public side.

But, like many of the paradoxes of Scripture, there is another aspect to public performance. Jesus also said,

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”

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