Developing a Kingdom Mentality, Part I

I was speaking with a relatively new Christian the other day about how to develope his spiritual life. In the course of the conversation, I explained to him it was most important to learn to worship God in the privacy of his home first.

He asked, "But I thought we are supposed to worship God publicly?"

I responded, "We are, but private worship comes first. You develop intimacy with God in your 'closet', then when you're in public, worship will be natural to you. Many people are embarrassed to worship God in a public setting because they are not intimate with Him in private."

Herein lies a great principle of the Kingdom of God. It is the key to progressing spiritually and developing a Kingdom mentality. Learn to do everything in secret, don't let your left hand know what the right hand is doing. Don't blow a trumpet, heralding all your good works to all men. Keep it secret, just between you and God.

I gave this young man three disciplines to master:
1. Learn to worship God privately.
2. Consistently read the Word of God and faith filled books about God.
3. Learn to give consistently in secret. The amount is not important, but the attitude of the heart is.

If this young man will practice these three disciplines, he will make much progress in the Kingdom of God.

Things Done In Secret

I received a letter today from a local ministry I used to be affiliated with. After explaining how many good things they were doing in a certain foreign country, the ministry leader explained they needed $10,000 per month to keep this good work going. Enclosed with the letter was a self addressed offering envelope from the ministry that I could send my donation in.

I pondered the letter for awhile. I thought of one of the teachings of Jesus, who said, "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing so that your giving may be in secret.Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:3-4 NIV

Somewhere along the way, we've gotten away from the principals of the Kingdom of God. Our way is to tell the world how good a job were doing blessing the less fortunate and, by the way, send us an offering so we can keep it up.

In the Kingdom of God, the way is to do things in secret, don't let a soul know what you're up to. God will see it though and He will reward you. You won't have to send appeal letters or beg over the TV screen.