Humbly Performing My Good Deeds Before Men

"I stand before you a humble man...all choked up with humbleness and humility."

~ Barney Fife

Chances are that if you actually are humble, other people have already recognized it and you have not. If you are verbally acknowledging your own humbleness, then it is unlikely that you are truly humble. While it is amusing for a fictional character like Barney Fife to perform such lines, we realize that it isn't actually funny in real life.

The same concept holds true for other aspects of our life as a Christian; John tells us in 1 John 3:18 not to love in word or deed, but in action as well. Generally speaking, we don't walk around spouting our love for our brethren (although there are times when this is both acceptable and genuine), but we show that love through various methods (see context of 1 John 3). If we follow the context of that passage and we do the things that we as Christians are commanded to do for one another, we do not then go ahead and talk about how wonderful and loving we are to have done them. Rather, we have done them because they are the right thing to do. We have done them because we have that love for one another. We do not do them in order to receive the praise of men, nor to make sure that everyone around us knows how much we have done for someone else (Matthew 6:1-4). There is a difference between others knowing that you have done a good deed because it was for them or they happened (note: HAPPENED) to witness it, and ensuring that everyone is publicly informed about your good deeds.

There are many things in this life that we can do that are "good deeds" that lose their goodness if we do them for the wrong reasons. In 1 Corinthians 13:3, Paul says, "...though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." The concept is that he could go through the motions and do the "right thing," but it would do him no good if he did it for the wrong reasons. Do we seek to please God with our actions and to genuinely benefit the person we are helping, or do we seek the praise of men? Perhaps we should ask ourselves this question when we are doing a "good deed": What if NOBODY, including the person we are doing it for, knew that we were the ones helping them?

Would we still do it?

While we should not agree with the doctrine of the man who made wrote the following excerpt, he does make a good point concerning humility.  Prentis McGoldrick writes:

Christian books and Church Conferences are filled with young pastors who are growing churches at alarming rates. Those of us who are more plodders that sprinters flock to these books and conferences. We would all like to grow our churches so that we could be writing books and doing conferences just like these guys.

 Now, here is something that I have noticed: Many of these young guys put a fine wrapper of humility around their pride. They will begin their books or conferences with something like: "I am so humbled to be the youngest pastor of the fastest growing church in America."

 What has he just said? He is letting the audience know that he is the pastor of the fastest growing church in America. You might say, "Well, of course he said that. If he didn't the person who introduced him said it." Does anyone get what is going on? This is pure pride which God has said He is opposed to!

Again, there are other issues with what he has written (a young pastor, for instance...please review the term in the Bible and see if it is possible for someone to be young and a pastor), but he makes an excellent point concerning humility and self-praise.  A self-complement is still a complement, no matter how we disguise it or claim that it isn't.  Those that actually are as busy as some claim to be aren't constantly talking about it and making sure that everyone knows how busy they are (McGoldrick makes this point as well).  Those that are actually doing good deeds for others for the appropriate reasons aren't making sure that the entire world knows about it.  

If we are honest and place ourselves and our own works up against what God has done for us, we have no room for bragging.  We still do those things for our brethren because we care for them and because they are the right things to do, but we don't do it so that we can "humbly brag" about what we have done.  Because it all comes down to this: Christ gave His life for us...have we given as much for Him?