Could You Serve Christ in Obscurity?

In a previous article, I wrote about the craving some have—which I also fight—to become a celebrity in their own digital world. That article asked an important introspective (self-examining) question: could we live in obscurity (being unknown to the public)?

There is a deep spiritual angle to this question as well. Could I serve Christ if very few people knew what I was doing for His cause? Can I do a good deed to His glory, completely content that my brethren will never find out? Could I truly keep my right hand uninformed of my left hand’s work?

Who Are We Trying to Please?

Do I serve Christ so that others will notice? I might not sound a literal trumpet or pray loudly on street corners. But do I “glorify God” by posting every good deed on social media?

Even if I never brag openly, do I “humblebrag” (make a boastful statement sound modest) just to get likes and positive comments?

Sometimes a challenging question sounds within us:

Imagine you are a preacher in a small remote town. You are never invited to speak at major lectureships (church speaking events), and your writing is never published for a wide audience.

You do incredible work for the Lord, but only the local people know who you are. They love you and credit you with their spiritual growth. But you receive no accolades (praise) from Christians in other places.

Could you be content knowing that your works are known only to God?

This question is life-changing. Who are we really serving, and why are we doing it?

Serving from the Heart

Consider the attitude of the apostles in 1 Thessalonians 2:4-6:

“…just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.”

As bondservants (devoted servants) of Christ, we should also heed Paul’s command in Ephesians 6:5-8:

“Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”

Celebrity is an illusion. How sad it would be if we chased the praise of men and disqualified ourselves from the praise of God (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18). Let everything we do be done solely to the glory of God.