Just a few days ago, there was a story in the news about a man who had died, and after his death, it became known that he had quietly paid the pharmacy bills of many neighbors for years. No one knew about his kindness in his lifetime. In his photos, he looks like the happiest man in the world. And no one knew why.
I saw a post from an adult woman, who was wishing that she could thank the lunch room lady who had quietly made PBJs for her and slipped them to her, when she didn’t have any lunch money and was a hungry child at school.
Have you ever been looking over a list of donations, and seen a large amount of money given by someone who only wants to be known as Anonymous?
There is something inside of us that wants to have our good deeds, our accomplishments, and our characters trumpeted. We want everyone to know how wonderful we are!
But the One who could truly trumpet, the Lord of heaven and earth, the One who healed and freed others from demons of illness and insanity, the One who calmed the storm and taught like an angel and left heaven to be one of us? He asked people not to tell. He said, “Shh. Don’t say anything.” Isaiah described him as one who never raised his voice in the streets, a servant of God full of quiet compassion who worked for justice. He didn’t ask for credit or yell for attention. Instead, Jesus did things. He healed, he touched lepers, he freed people from demons, he refused to crush those who were down, he confronted injustice with courage, he brought heaven to earth and showed us the heart of God.
What could we do, if we didn’t care who got the credit?