Spiritual Disciplines for the Soul: Secrecy
William Gaultiere, Ph.D. © 2005
When Jesus entered towns he tried to keep it a secret that he was there, but of course he couldn’t (Mark 7:24). In town after town the crowds swelled around him and he taught them and ministered to them but then he withdrew and went on to another town. Repeatedly he went away by himself to “lonely places” to pray to the Father in secret (Luke 5:16). When he healed people he told them to keep it a secret (Mark 1:44). He called himself “the Son of Man” and let people come to the realization that he was also the Son of God. Peter was the first to confess that Jesus was indeed the Messiah but Jesus told him not to tell anyone. Later he told the disciples not to tell anyone about seeing his glory at the transfiguration. It wasn’t until just before he disappeared into heaven that he told his followers to tell others that he was the Savior (Mark 16:15).
Jesus’ way of secrecy was a startling contrast to the way of most of the religious leaders of his day: they wore flowing garish garments; had trumpets blown to announce their coming; boasted of their pedigree and achievements; insisted on being called “Rabbi;” prayed long, loud, flowery prayers before admiring crowds; gave their tithes and offerings publicly to be recognized; and took the seats of honor at events. Similarly, for us today our culture’s way of self-promotion is so inbred in us that we normally don’t even notice it or think of it as taking the focus off of Jesus when we advertise ourselves.
But Jesus taught us to follow his example of humility: to pray to their Father in secret, to do our good works quietly, to seek God’s praise and not people’s, and to put aside all selfish ambition. This is not to say that he wanted us to hide the glory he bestowed on us any more than he hid his own. He told us that we were “the light of the world.” We need to remember though the light he gives us is meant to shine on Jesus and it shines best from our broken hearts (2 Corinthians 4:7).
In The Spirit of the Disciplines Dallas Willard explains how to practice dwelling in “the secret place of the Most High” (Psalm 91:1, NKJV), to be “secretly in a pavilion” of God’s presence that is “free from the strife of tongues” (Psalm 31:2220, NKJV).
“In the discipline of secrecy… we abstain from causing our good deeds and qualities to be known. We may even take steps to prevent them from being known… We learn to love to be unknown and even to accept misunderstanding without the loss of our peace, joy, or purpose… We allow [God] to decide when our deeds will be known and when our light will be noticed… And that love and humility encourages us to see our associates in the best possible light, even to the point of our hoping they will do better and appear better than us” (p. 172-3).
Henri Nouwen in his book In the Name of Jesus provides an unforgettable example of implementing Jesus’ way of secrecy. He left behind 20 years of teaching seminary at Nortre Dame, Yale, and Harvard to live with mentally handicapped people at Daybreak, a L’Arche community. They cared nothing about his religious achievements and intellect. For over a decade he become a part of their community and cared for these societal cast offs by listening, giving hugs, telling stories, and just being with them.
