The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ch 14, The Hidden Righteousness

Matthew 6:1-4

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

What does it mean to not practice [hide] your righteousness in front of others? Don’t we want them to see Jesus in us?

Bonhoeffer writes. “Of course it [our righteousness] has to be visible, but we (Jesus’ followers) must take care that it does not become visible simply for the sake of being visible. …visibility is never an end in itself…if it becomes so we have lost sight of our primary aim, which is to follow Jesus.”

This presents a paradox for the believer. While our activity must be seen by the world it is never to be done for the sake of being seen. There are three steps to resolving this paradox.

1.       “From whom are we to hide the visibility of our discipleship?  We are to hide it from ourselves.” We follow Jesus wholeheartedly, looking to him alone. “…and taking no notice of ourselves or what we are doing.” No journal recording our righteous endeavors.

2.       How can the same life be both visible and invisible? (go back and read the comments from chapter 5 – Discipleship and the Individual - dated 10/23/25.)

3.       Is there a conflict between chapters 5 and 6 that needs resolution? The answer lies in the meaning of discipleship. The disciple looks only to his Lord and follows him exclusively.

So, “true devotion and righteousness consists not only in the outward behavior but in the disposition of the heart.” See James 1:22-26. If visibility becomes an end in itself then the disciple must examine their motive(s). When the motive involves being seen the disciple will have lost sight of their primary objective, “which is to follow Jesus.” See Colossians 3:23.