I believe that most people have a desire to do what’s right. And we often think about our actions in light of their effect on other people. We generally look at our public actions in light of how they impact other people’s lives. So, we act with that knowledge in mind. But when it comes to private actions we often have this internal belief that goes something like, ‘What I do in private doesn’t affect anyone else’. And this belief has become even more pervasive in our society. But is this really true?
There are many people that hold to the belief that they do in private is their own business. And further, that this only affects them. Much of this belief is in light of personal liberties and rights regarding governmental incursion as relates to the law. And certainly we want to maintain our personal liberties. But as it relates to matter of morality and the impact we have on other people’s lives, is it possible that I am overlooking the impact of my private life on the society as a whole?
Some of what we would call private indiscretions can have unintended consequences that may not be apparent at first glance. Living in a free country we have an idea of freedom instilled in us. But I think our idea of freedom has become warped. We’ve come to see it as freedom to do whatever we want, instead of freedom to do what we ought. Yet it was Alexis de Tocqueville who said, “When America ceases to be good she will cease to be great”. We need a morality to guide and direct our actions, even in private. I think the social impact of private actions are understated. We don’t know the impact that things we focus on in our own time will have on our lives in general and others in general. Beliefs are followed by actions, and actions, even private ones, affect us socially as well.
Some of the things we get involved with on our own time, unwittingly, affect our how we relate to others, how we see others, and how we deal with others. Does the alcoholic who drinks alone really only affect his own life? Even if you can make the case that he doesn’t directly, you haven’t thought about it in terms of opportunity costs. How much could he positively impact lives if he wasn’t overcome by his addiction to alcohol? In that light, his actions are certainly impacting lives of others.
Of course this works in the positive sense as well. People that do good works in private certainly impact the lives of others. The philanthropist who gives significant, undisclosed, sums of money to the needy or good social causes is allowing his private actions to impact others in a positive way. Many of the private things we can do will manifest in a social context. Some of this is because many of the positive things we can do in private can help us prepare to be of help to others in public.
AV Luke 12:2: “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” It is tougher to make the argument to the world that private matters affect public life. But coming from a spiritual perspective, it’s much easier to make the case. The things we do in private will eventually be revealed. We can’t hide from this truth. Many people think the things they do will never be known. God has made it clear to us, through His word, that they will.
AV Matthew 6:6: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” The good that we do is something that we should keep private when possible. God will take care of any recognition we deserve. Many of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day were guilty of doing things in public just to be seen of men. But this is because they loved the praises of people more than the praises of God.
AV Galatians 6:8: “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” We personally reap whatever we sow to. If we reap to the flesh we reap corruption. But when we sow to our Spirits the good things God has for us we will have the benefit of everlasting life.
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AV Proverbs 28:13: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy.” If we find ourselves in a sinful practice, the Bible commands us to confess it. When we confess these things and forsake them we gain God’s mercy. It also has an effect of taking a load off us when we confess these things to someone else. We will often find that thing doesn’t have such a hold over us when we confess it to a person close to us. The devil doesn’t want us to talk about these things with others. But that’s because He wants to keep us bound in them. He knows that part of us breaking free from the bondage involves confession.
AV 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” It’s also a relief for us to know that when we confess these things to God He is gracious to forgive us. He helps us by giving us a clean slate. We don’t have to live under the bondage of sin because He has offered us forgiveness through His son Jesus. We can be made free from anything we do in private. And we can start to impact other’s lives in positive ways by what we do in private as well.
AV Luke 12:2: “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.”
AV Matthew 6:6: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
AV Galatians 6:8: “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
AV Proverbs 28:13: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy.”
AV 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”