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Columnist and writer Núbia Siqueira warns about the danger of overexposure for those who sincerely want to have communion with God.

We live in a time when hyperexposure is promoted a lot and young people, especially, like the visibility that social networks provide. So, they are stuck with the need to expose their personal life in search of return in the form of likes, comments and shares.

Why is it important:

For the writer and columnist Núbia Siqueira, this accentuated exposition is bad for the person who wants to have communion with God. For in order to develop a relationship with the Most High and invest in the spiritual life, it is also necessary to appreciate solitude and anonymity.

“Life with God is not what is shown to people or what is lived inside the church, it goes beyond that. I usually say that life in the secret is what actually sustains us. It’s like an iceberg. You can see the tip of it there, but most of it is under the water, it’s that part that supports that tip up there. In the same way, the life we have in secret with God is what will really sustain us along our walk, our journey”, highlights the writer.

What Jesus says about it:

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ” Matthew 6:5,6

That is, prayer made for the purpose of impressing people is of no value to God. In the same way the works carried out in order to show men. If the intention is to gain people’s recognition, then don’t expect any reward from God.

Life in the secret is what sustains us:

Núbia points out that many people say they are living a secret life, but take pictures reading the Bible, praying, etc. However, what is secret you do not show, is your intimacy with God. From the moment you need to expose it, you are already showing that you didn’t do it for God, you did it for men. When a person does it for God, they don’t have the need to expose it on social media.

God’s work is done behind the scenes, what really sustains God’s work is not what is apparent. She mentions as an example the evangelism group, which is mostly formed by people who are sitting in the middle of the congregation, they are not showing up, but it is that group that works to bring new people to the church. Whoever cleans the church, who washes the toilet, probably does not receive recognition from anyone, he is anonymous. However, “I believe that the works in anonymity are the ones that will have the greatest rewards in eternity”, she points out.

The anonymous life of Jesus:

The writer points out that Jesus lived in anonymity until he was 30 years old. Even though he was the Son of God, he lived this entire period as an ordinary person, but always serving the Father.

“People didn’t identify him as the Son of God, he was so discreet in his way of being and acting that people didn’t recognise him. They saw him as the son of Mary and Joseph, brother of James. But here was the most important man the world has ever known.”

Conclusion:

Based on the above verse, the writer concludes that when you expose everything you do waiting for likes and comments, those interactions are already your reward, don’t expect to receive anything else from God. In the same way, when you do something in church expecting to receive approval, praise from the pastor, that praise is already your reward.

Furthermore, when a person does something for a man, he gets tired, complains, faints, but when he does it seeking to do God’s will, he will always do his best, because he knows who he is doing it for. So, evaluate your intentions and reactions daily.