Have you ever noticed “Tell no one what I’ve done” does not seem to be common today? It is rarely spoken. Just the opposite really. Many/most want their exploits plastered all over and shouted from the rooftops. There are, of course, times when we wish our deeds were unknown. But that is a topic for another time. 🙂
There is a proverb that says, “Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth-a stranger, not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2 NLT). Simply put: Don’t toot your own horn. That’s a good practice to follow. A fun movie to watch is The Incredibles. Mr. Incredible is a “retired” superhero now doing insurance, but it is dull and mundane. He never loses his desire to be Mr. Incredible again and he begins to daydream by drawing costumes. For some reason, he wants a cape. But Edna-the designer of costumes-says, “No cape” then shows him vignettes of superheroes having trouble because of capes. Capes are dangerous. One doesn’t need a cape to be a superhero. Actions speak louder than capes.
Capes are unnecessary. What got me thinking of this was my reading this morning from Mark 5. Jairus comes to Jesus asking for help for his dying daughter. Sandwiched between Him saying, “Yes” and the actual event, is the woman who approached Jesus to stop an issue of blood. By the time Jesus gets to Jairus’ daughter she has died. He raises her to life and then tells the parents, “Tell no one.” Yeah right. How do you keep silent about something so miraculous? Jesus didn’t need or want a cape. He just did. And each time He told someone, “Tell no one” most often they did anyway. We aren’t told what Jairus and his wife did. I’m sure they fed their daughter as Jesus told them to do, but I have this sneaking suspicion they told a whole bunch of people. Certainly those who were mourners and laughed at Jesus when He said she was just sleeping let it be known.
Truly humble people-ones I admire-are those who don’t toot their own horn. There is something that happens inside when a deed is done for another without fanfare. The Bible calls it “not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing.”
It also means not wearing a cape.
