Perhaps you’ve been challenged, at one time or another, to consider the following scenario: You’re in a room that’s stacked to the ceiling with money. There is no one else in the room. No one will ever know that you were in the room along with the money. There are no hidden cameras or microphones. AND, furthermore, in addition, no one will ever know if you steal as much of the money as you can carry. Sturdy bags are provided!

I was first given this challenge in an ethics class many years ago. It seemed to me that the fairly obvious purpose of this exercise was to get us thinking about situational ethics. Are we totally honest at all times or only when someone’s watching us? If we knew we’d never get caught, would we discover that our character is not nearly as impeccable and rock-solid as we claim and portray to others? Are our convictions really “absolute”? Would we not only steal, but also lie, gossip, cheat, exaggerate, etc. if knew, absolutely, that no one would ever know, that we’d never get caught? How much of our law-abiding behavior is motivated by built-in principles and how much is motivated by a strong desire to avoid getting caught and paying some penalty?

Would you really stop for that red, octagonal sign way out in the country IF you believed there wasn’t a policeman within twenty miles? One state (Iowa) uses police helicopters and planes to catch stop sign runners at night, way out in the country on roads that run through the middle of corn fields.)

While I believe that posing this hypothetical question is a valid and useful exercise in getting people to more correctly evaluate their own character, I recently came up with a completely different twist.

If given an opportunity to do something really good for God, how would you go about it? Write your own scenario. Act in your own play. Give yourself as big a part as you’d like. Perhaps your plot will involve buying and delivering groceries to an elderly neighbor who barely gets by on a small social security check. Perhaps you’ll leave a few bags of goodies on the doorstep of a large family whose breadwinner(s) have been laid off. Maybe your script involves paying the summer camp fee for a child who would never have an opportunity to go to camp without help. Further, your story might involve giving money to help pay an electric bill for someone who is struggling. Write your own story. Be as creative as you can be.

Now, please consider this: Could you live with doing your good deeds in a completely anonymous manner? Can you give, perhaps sacrificially, knowing, absolutely, that NO ONE will ever know you did it? Not the recipient, not a bystander, onlooker, observer, close friend, family member…nobody will ever, ever know!

I realize that it’s not always possible to give in the manner I’ve described. Those who are part of those “small, but fiercely loyal support teams” who support our and other ministries, might find it difficult, if not impossible to share in a totally anonymous manner. However, my purpose in writing this piece is to stimulate all of us to think, to think about our true, inner character, our motivations for the good we do. The Bible has a lot to say about such things. We’re not to blow a trumpet to announce our plans before we do a good deeds. We’re not to boastfully let folks know what we did, for whom, or even why.

When our works are finally judged, the Bible describes it this way: All our works will be piled up. The fire of God’s judgement will be applied to the pile. The wood, hay, and stubble will burn away like so much chaff. Only the gold and precious stones will remain. This says to me that the works we do from improper motives would be just as well left undone if we’re holding them up to the light of eternity.

God further gives us this message: If we consistently seek rewards and public recognition in this life, we forfeit the rewards that are to come in our next life. I have no idea (and I doubt anyone else does, either) what the specific reward system is in Heaven.

I found this quotation many years ago. I’ve adopted it as an important part of my thinking. Here it is: “There’s no end to the good that could be done, if no one cared who got the credit.” It might be a good idea for each and all of us to “think on these things.”

WHAT ARE THE LIFE LESSONS IN THIS?

• Take inventory of your inner self. Determine “why” you do or don’t do what you do!
• Ask God to help you weed out the selfish motivations that guide your decisions.
• Commit to developing Godly character in your life as a necessary step to making Godly decisions.

Remember, when no one else is watching, HE IS!

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