Secrets, Silence, and Social Media: Thoughts on Matthew 6
Today I read Matthew 6:1–18, where Jesus talks about giving, prayer, and fasting. What caught my attention is the repeated emphasis on doing these things in secret rather than for public display. The words are pretty direct: “Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1, NLT).
From Almsgiving to Instagramming
The idea of secrecy in spiritual or moral practice feels counterintuitive in our time. So much of modern life pushes us to share what we’re doing—whether it’s generosity, volunteer work, or even acts of personal discipline. Platforms like Instagram or TikTok thrive on visibility, and the “good deed” can quickly become content. That isn’t necessarily bad, but it does raise a question: when we show others what we’re doing, is it still about the act itself, or has it become about recognition?
Close the Door and Keep It Quiet
The passage doesn’t only apply to giving money. In verse 5, Jesus addresses prayer: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.” The instruction that follows is almost the opposite: go into a room, close the door, and pray in private. Even fasting, which could be a deeply personal practice, gets this treatment—“When you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting” (Matthew 6:17–18).
What’s interesting here is the focus on motive. It isn’t that public prayer, generosity, or fasting are wrong. It’s the reason behind them that seems to matter. If recognition is the goal, then that recognition is the only reward. But if the act is done quietly, away from attention, then the act holds a different kind of value.
Secrets in the Age of Sharing
This raises some challenging questions for today. Is it possible to give anonymously in a world where receipts, donor lists, and acknowledgment walls exist? Can prayer or meditation remain a private act when there’s so much encouragement to share personal routines and self-care habits online? Even fasting, which might once have been entirely invisible, is now often part of diet culture or wellness branding.
There’s also a tension between secrecy and the natural human desire for community. If no one ever shared their practices, others might never learn about them or be inspired to try. At the same time, the push to share everything can shift the meaning of the practice itself.
Matthew 6:1–18 presses on something that feels very current: why we do what we do. The emphasis on secrecy seems less about hiding and more about reminding us that motives matter. Recognition might feel good in the moment, but perhaps the deeper value of giving, praying, or fasting lies in what happens when no one else is watching.