The Audience of One
“If a man knows not what harbour he seeks, any wind is the right wind.”
Most of us want many things at once: to do right, to be respected, to be liked, and to look good while doing it. Purity of heart, means narrowing all of that down to one thing, God’s approval rather than the crowd’s. Now it is said in one sentence. But to live it, takes a little more than one sentence or one attempt. It is a daily conscious choice.
Jesus builds the same idea. Giving, praying, and fasting were the most visible religious acts of His day, and over each one He repeats a phrase like a drumbeat: do it in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. He doesn’t ban public life. He questions the motive. Who is the performance for?
Today, turn on a camera and you can see hundreds of preachers. Gather a few hundred people and we find a multitude of singers. Every body wants to do things when there is a world watching. But who will sing for one audience. To the one willing to sing for one, a multitude is given. But true worship isn’t always in the multitude, it is behind closed doors. Who am I when no one’s looking is a question asked for centuries. Today, who am I seeking when no one’s looking? How am I worshipping when no one’s looking? How am I praying when no one’s looking?
The trap is subtle. A good deed done with one eye on the audience is still a good deed, but it’s already been paid for. Jesus says of the performers, “They have received their reward in full.” The applause is the whole payment, and nothing is left in the account. 5 min of work, payment done in full. How much does 5 minute of work pay. Well, the Nazarene says, the 55 that was done behind closed doors, brings a reward that exceeds this life, onto the next one. That is a very big reward. Yet, we are warned not to do it for the reward.
An audience of one frees you in two directions. You stop needing the crowd’s approval, so you can do the right thing when it costs you. And you stop fearing the crowd’s disapproval, because it was never the final verdict.
Try an experiment this week. Do something good that can’t be traced back to you, and don’t mention it. Notice how hard that is, and how much lighter it feels. God honours that. Every body wants to do something the world can watch but today God is seeking people who can do everything even when no one’s watching. Sadly, the sign up sheet is still mostly empty.