During these recent weeks all of us have had a time to realize we do have a personal life. Prior to the personal impacts of the Coronavirus, we were busy, we were consumed. We had more things going on than we could handle or even want to do, and then we come to a screeching halt.

We have all come to a place where we have been forced to spend more time at home. To spend more time with our family. To spend more time with God. During this forced “slow-down”, we have all changed how we go about our day.

In a brief comparison, explain what life was like last summer and how life is today. What anxiety and plans did you have last year and what is life like now.

Public Vs Private

What have come to understand, regardless of how busy we used to be or how boring life is now, there is two parts of who we are. The part that other people see and interact with, we will call this our public life. Then there is the internal, private life. Where the challenges of our mind and spirit collide and get all messy with our physical life.  Let’s take a peek at this division in a section of Luke this morning in chapter 12.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees
In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ² Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³ Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

Have No Fear
⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.^[a] Yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?^[b] And not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men
⁸ “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, ⁹ but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹ And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” – Luke 12:1-12 ESV

In our times of more time at home, and isolated, we actually are pouring more into our personal life than our public life. In the opening of the chapter, Jesus makes a bold statement.

Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—beware of their hypocrisy. The time is coming when everything will be revealed; all that is secret will be made public. – Luke 12:1-2 NLT

With all of the internet and social media out there, we can take hold of that scripture and declare all of those people out there will be revealed, which is true. But let us not teeter on self-righteousness. What we do in private will also be revealed.

Public

Character and reputation should never be confused. A man’s reputation is what people think he is. His character is what God knows he is. Living as we do in an image-conscious society, great emphasis is placed on how we appear in public.

So business men are told how to dress for success and are encouraged to wear the right kind of power suits and ties. Politicians listen to focus groups and watch polls carefully to monitor any changes necessary in their “image.” Even teenagers, ever conscious of peer pressure and acceptance, insist on the right kind of gear in order to be the right kind of cool. Image, public persona, reputation—these are what really matter to our culture.

Private

What a man is in private, what he is in the eyes of God—his character—is not given as much attention. In fact, we are told repeatedly that private life is of no concern to anyone other than the individual. So public image is of concern to the masses, but private life is of concern only to one.

What are your thoughts on this separation and really two different “compartments” of life.  Are they separate? Is there a dividing line in how you live your life?

Jesus knew full well that public image can be a projection of what is noticeably false. In fact, he had in front of him a clear example of this. So he warned, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—beware of their hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1). The Pharisees were masters of image; they were practiced at projecting an image of being reverent, that was not a reflection of inner reality. Jesus had a name for it: He called it hypocrisy. Their lives were an act, a charade, a travesty.

Jesus went on, “The time is coming when everything will be revealed; all that is secret will be made public” (12:2). The barrier between private and public will be breached. The gap between what people think we are and what God knows we are will be bridged. There will be no difference between private and public life—everything private will be made public. We will be known as fully as God knows us.

In our truthful balance of life and reality. How has been your experience with public and private? If not called out from others, maybe by your own voice, what is your stance on your own hypocrisy?

So how should a man respond? He should be more concerned about how he appears to God than about how he is viewed by people. What he is in private—his character—should take priority over how he appears in public—his reputation. Reputation is not insignificant, but it can be inaccurate. Good people are sometimes given a bad name, while rogues are often praised to the skies. But it will not be so in heaven. What the world needs is men of sound character who earn a solid reputation. Their character pleases God, and their reputation blesses humanity.

As we close this week, let us share and challenge ourselves on where we are. If there are some areas of our life that need special prayer and love, let us fellowship. This is a messy world, we are not perfect and we were never meant to live through this life independent. Let us strive with all we got to mature our life with Christ and the rest will be just fine.