There is an old story about the great preacher D.L. Moody. One of his pastoral students once tried to impress his mentor, so he told him how he and a group of his friends had stayed awake all night in a prayer meeting. The student approached Moody and said, “Do you know where we have been? We have been talking to God all night. Don’t you see how our faces shine?”
The preacher was not impressed with this display of piety, and responded by quoting from Exodus 34:29, “Moses did not know that his face was shining.”
Moody was referring to the time Moses ascended Mt Sinai to receive the law from God. The verse that follows the one quoted above says, “Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.” But as Moody reminded his arrogant disciple, Moses was unaware of his own glowing face. Everyone else saw what Moses could not see.
When we do something spiritual, like spending the night in supplication, it defeats the purpose when we brag about it and draw attention to ourselves. Moses’ face was glowing because he had physically been near the presence of God, but he didn’t need to go around telling people—they could all see the evidence of it with their own eyes.
Some people do not seem to have the ability to do anything worthwhile without sending out a press release before or after the event (sometimes both!). The age old question is, “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound?” We could update the question and ask, “If a Christian feeds the hungry, but didn’t post it on Facebook, did they really get fed?” We love the pats on the back and the applause of people, but when we receive those rewards, those become our only rewards.
Jesus spoke on this topic in Matthew 6, saying, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven (v.1).” In the next verse He said those who draw attention to themselves that they “may be praised by others…have received their reward.”
The praise of men or the praise of God: those are our options. The social media ministers may get the likes, the shares, and the retweets, but that is all they get; God gives the eternal rewards.
But if we don’t go around telling people about what we are doing for the Lord, how will they even know we have done it? They will see it. They will see the glow on our face that comes from being in the presence of God and living life for Him. You might be the only one who doesn’t see the glow in your face, but everyone else will notice.
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