Do good without seeking recognition for your good works
Several months ago, my computer home page had a teaser that read, “People to Watch in 2017.” I clicked on it to see if I made the list and was disappointed to discover I didn’t. I would have bet good money that I would have been a person to watch this year, but the compiler of this list obviously didn’t think so.
It’s not the first list I didn’t make. I keep checking all of them – “The 50 Sexiest Men in America,” “The 100 Wealthiest People in the World,” “The 20 People Americans Most Love to Watch,” and “Movers and Shakers in 2017” – and haven’t found my name yet. Time magazine always names a person-ofthe-year, and, wonder of wonders, I haven’t been chosen for that either.
I’m starting to get the idea that the world-at-large might be oblivious to me. I’ve been checking those lists for years and always come up empty-handed. I think I’m destined for anonymity.
But I decided several years ago not to be too discouraged about it. I decided it’s not such a bad thing to be “flying under the radar.”
In his book “The Twilight of American Culture,” Morris Berman suggests that only people who are “flying under the radar” can do anything significant. For work to be truly lasting and helpful, he believes, it must be private, local and done with no thought of fame or profit.
To do good, he says, we must shun the public eye. In his thinking, the more public something becomes, the less likely it is to be truly helpful. As he puts it, “In the trendy Land of Hype, success fails.” When people buy into their own press clippings, they become hooked on hype and, ironically, become less helpful.
Berman suggests that we become “NMI’s” (New Monastic Individuals) and forget about “success,” as the world defines it. He proposes that we privately and personally go about doing good, without any thought of personal gain or notoriety.
When I read that book, I was reminded of something Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before people, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1).
He said when we give to the needy to do it in secret, so that even our left hand doesn’t know what our right hand is doing. When we pray to do it in the closet, so no one knows of our piety. And, when we fast, to do it in such a way that no one even notices.
In other words, Jesus advised us to do good in such a way that we don’t draw attention to ourselves.
I’m telling you about Morris Berman and Jesus just in case you don’t make any of those lists either. It is entirely possible that the world is blind to your genius and generosity – and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
But take heart. Maybe Berman and Jesus are right. Maybe the best thing that can happen to us is to remain anonymous, to go about doing good without any thought of public acclaim.
One thing is for sure: Judging from all of the lists I’ve been checking, I’ll probably have ample opportunity to find out.