Can You Keep A Secret?

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ne evening, after I finished teaching my conversational French class, I went downstairs to my office to drop off my books and the CD player I had used during the session.  As I exited the office I noticed one of several custodial workers responsible for keeping our building clean and neat.  There are several people who maintain and clean our building.  Unfortunately, they are rarely recognized or thanked for the contribution they make to our students’ education.

As I got on the elevator, the lady sweeping the floor wished me a good evening and a safe journey home.  She would work late into the night, mopping hallways, sweeping trash, cleaning blackboards, dusting offices, and vacuuming floors.  The offices in the morning would show the evidence of her work done in secret, out of sight of anyone else.  However, were her job not done, everyone would immediately notice and be very upset that no one was cleaning the building.

On the way home, God spoke to me as I reflected on the lady I had just left.  What impressed me most were her dedication and her faithfulness to her job.  She had no supervisor glaring over her shoulder, she had no foreman giving instructions, and she had no manager pointing out her assigned task for the evening.  Instead, she knew her responsibilities and she set about the task of making sure her job was done.  She knew people were counting on her to provide clean offices and classrooms that would help us do our jobs better.  All the while, this lady worked knowing that very few, people, if any, would take notice of her or her faithfulness to her task. However, the absence of praise and appreciation did not phase her.  She faithfully worked until her job was done.

What a wonderful picture of faithfulness this woman provides.  Sometimes God calls us to work during the night, in places that are unnoticed, unimpressive, and seemingly unimportant. He calls us to perform tasks that seem so trivial and menial.  We wonder how our efforts in these endeavors can ever achieve great things for God and further His kingdom.  God, however, sees things from a completely different perspective.  All God wants from us is our availability and our faithfulness to the task to which He has called us.  The task may be large or it may be small, but whatever it is, God has assigned and entrusted it to us.

In Matthew6:4, Jesus speaks about the work we do in secret and he actually encourages it. “So that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  This is a very important lesson and one we should consider carefully.  Jesus encourages us to give in secret.  So many times we read this as only pertaining to money.  However, the Lord does not limit himself to this one area of obedience.  He clearly states that we are to give (ourselves, our money, our time, our industry, our support, our caring, etc) in secret, so that we will not receive honor from those around us. 

When we perform these acts of obedience, God takes notice of our work.  He sees everything we do, He hears every prayer we pray, He counts every tear we shed, He understands every heartache we experience, and He feels every pain we feel.  There is nothing that affects us that does not also affect Him.  His promise to us is to reward us for our obedience to Him.  God promises He will bless us and that He will bring us closer to Him if we remain faithful to Him and obey His commands.

As I turned into my driveway, I thanked God for the lady who cleans our building.  Her task is to prepare the building so the rest of us can do our jobs.  I pray that God will use us to prepare the way for others who will lead people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Whatever we do for God, though hidden from the rest of the world, never escapes His notice. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 4:5, “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 

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herever your place of service is today, I pray that you will remain faithful to the charge God has given you.  He has placed you exactly where you are for a reason.  He knows your faithfulness will lead to His glory.  Work for Him with all your might, receiving your praise from God and not from men.  When God calls us into His service He asks us one overriding question, “Can you keep a secret?”  Let us remain faithful to Him who called us knowing that when the time comes, He will reward us for our faithfulness to Him.