Luke 8:16

     No one takes a lamp and lights it and then puts a bushel basket over it, or a vessel of any kind. It is clear and obvious that lights are meant to be seen and to see by, so a light is placed on a stand to give aid to everyone who enters that space.
      It’s become a common proverb: Don’t hide your light under a bushel. Most people who use it may not even realize the image comes from the lips of Jesus. In the same way, a Hollywood writer portrayed a time long before Jesus or anything in the bible, in the mythical days of Greek gods and goddesses. A character protests, “I was just trying to be a good Samaritan.” Of course, it could have been a particularly clever writer, introducing a deliberate anachronism for those who could see the humor in it. Most likely, the phrase is simple so familiar that the writer never thought about the fact that in the time portrayed, there had not yet been any Samaritans, good or bad, nor had there been a Jesus to tell the story of one.
     Don’t hide your light under a bushel. It’s a phrase used to encourage a self-image. It has been employed sarcastically as well as with genuine fervor. Jesus himself was pointing to a simple truth and his followers have puzzled over it, gained from it and applied it in various ways throughout the centuries since then.
     In Luke, the closest to a comment upon his own words is to say (verse17) that everything that is hidden or secret will come to light. But his followers have suspected he meant even more than this.
     Mark records the words in the same general context as Luke, following the parable of the sower. It may be possible, then, to apply them to that parable, perhaps that the good harvest will help give light to the world. That would fit with the context Matthew records it in, where Jesus said specifically to his followers that they were the light of the world. Christians ever since have related it to the subject of witness and discipleship. Jesus was very direct in making this a responsibility of the Christian life. We are to be bearers f light and to give that light to others, and they are to do the same in turn. God make disciples, he this followers at the end of Matthew. In the United Methodist Church we have as our goal: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. And with more disciples giving and creating light, how could the world fail to be transformed?
     Naturally, the subject can be question and applied in other respects. What about modesty? Jesus also talked about charitable giving that s secret and not praying in ways that are ostentatious.
     This question came up in one church where the special giving of individuals was routinely listed in the church newsletter. Some objected. Their generosity (in many cases great) was something they felt was supposed to be between them and God. For others, the listing of their names was also a witness, and in some cases as they gave to remember a person, it was a witness also to that person’s life. Eventually a compromise was established. The amounts would not be listed and if someone requested it, their names would not be printed.
      Ironically, of course, great good has been done in the world by those who were seeking self-advancement or preservation of their names. Can a business be blamed for wanting some advertising out of the generous gift they gave to a cause? And the cause is usually grateful to give that advertising.
      How do you let your light shine, yet not let the left hand know what the right is doing?
      Jesus might invite us to examine our motives. Is it our light we want advertised? Are we seeking or inviting admiration of ourselves? Are we witnessing to God or to human beings?
      Only the individual can answer that for themselves, and even then we have many ways to fool ourselves. Human motives are also usually not completely pure, so it may be an ongoing process to find ways to let the light shine without letting the process become spiritually unhealthy.

What questions do you think would be healthy in asking about your motives?
Because good might be done, should we forget the motives and throw ourselves into it?