\u201cGood Deeds Done by Christians Often Go Unseen\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I have somewhat ambivalent feelings about it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the one hand, we\u2019re not to take glory to ourselves for any good things that we do:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Take heed\u00a0that ye do not your\u00a0alms\u00a0before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. \u00a0Therefore when thou doest\u00a0thine<\/span>\u00a0alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the\u00a0hypocrites\u00a0do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have\u00a0glory\u00a0of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. \u00a0But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine\u00a0alms\u00a0may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall\u00a0reward\u00a0thee openly.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nAnd when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the\u00a0hypocrites\u00a0are:<\/span>\u00a0for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. \u00a0But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy\u00a0closet, and when thou hast\u00a0shut\u00a0thy door,\u00a0pray\u00a0to thy Father which is in\u00a0secret; and thy Father which\u00a0seeth\u00a0in secret shall\u00a0rewardthee openly. \u00a0(Matthew 6:1-6)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the Savior wants the fruits of Christian discipleship to be so visible that they will attract others to him:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ye are the\u00a0light\u00a0of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. \u00a0Neither do men light a\u00a0candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. \u00a0Let your\u00a0light\u00a0so shine before men, that they may see your good\u00a0works, and\u00a0glorify\u00a0your Father which is in heaven. \u00a0(Matthew 5:14-16)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reconcile the two principles this way:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
We should not seek personal glory for doing good.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
After all, as King Benjamin taught, \u201cwhen ye are in the\u00a0service of your\u00a0fellow\u00a0beings\u00a0ye are only in the service of your God,\u201d and yet, \u201cif ye should serve him with all your\u00a0whole\u00a0souls yet ye would be\u00a0unprofitable\u00a0servants\u201d (Mosiah 2:17, 21).<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But we should be happy when people recognize the goodness of the Gospel and of the Lord\u2019s Kingdom, the Church. \u00a0We can hope that, seeing it, they will want to be part of it:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The word that\u00a0Isaiah\u00a0the son of Amoz\u00a0saw\u00a0concerning Judah and Jerusalem.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nAnd it shall come to pass in the\u00a0last days,\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0mountain\u00a0of the\u00a0Lord<\/span><\/span>\u2019s\u00a0house\u00a0shall be\u00a0established\u00a0in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all\u00a0nations\u00a0shall flow unto it. \u00a0And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us\u00a0go\u00a0up to the\u00a0mountain\u00a0of the\u00a0Lord<\/span><\/span>, to the\u00a0house\u00a0of the God of Jacob; and he will\u00a0teach\u00a0us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of\u00a0Zion\u00a0shall go forth the\u00a0law, and the word of the\u00a0Lord<\/span><\/span>\u00a0from Jerusalem.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nAnd he shall\u00a0judge\u00a0among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn\u00a0war\u00a0any more. \u00a0(Isaiah 4:1-2)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I can scarcely imagine the depth of the grief of the parents of a murdered child. \u00a0But, if anything, I find it even more difficult to imagine the anguish and pain that must almost certainly be felt by the parents of the murderer. \u00a0 In any event, this is a remarkable \u2014 and, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":43796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
Religious Liberty, and What Religion Offers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" I can scarcely imagine the depth of the grief of the parents of a murdered child. \u00a0But, if anything, I find it even more difficult to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/08\/religious-liberty-religion-offers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Religious Liberty, and What Religion Offers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" I can scarcely imagine the depth of the grief of the parents of a murdered child. \u00a0But, if anything, I find it even more difficult to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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![\"Jefferson's](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/08\/Thomas_Jefferson_gravestone_at_Monticello_IMG_4201.jpg\")
<\/a>