Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Mathew 5:6 ( NASB)
Lord, we must be honest before You: many of us want the appearance of holiness more than the nature of it. It is striking that many Christian leaders are not undone by smoking, drugs, or alcoholism. More often, they are exposed by illicit affairs or long confessions of bondage to pornography. Why? Because these are hidden sins. Sins that allow a man to remain entertained in secret while still maintaining a public ministry. Sins that let the sermon survive while the soul decays.
Mediocrity sets in. Familiarity replaces fear. Routine replaces reverence. Performance replaces purity. Holiness becomes something we play, not something we are. God asks us to “Be holy”, not do holy things (1 Peter 1:16). We learn how to switch it on for Sunday services, cell groups, Bible studies, and Christian gatherings. And alongside that public life, a private life of immorality and self-indulgence quietly continues. Two lives. One reputation. One hidden reality. At that point, we must ask an uncomfortable question:
Did we ever want God’s nature, or did we only want the reputation of having it?
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6). He did not say, “Blessed are those who want to be known as righteous.”
The desire to be seen, admired, and applauded is not new. It is woven into the old man—the flesh. Scripture calls it the boastful pride of life(1 John 2:16). And this battle is daily: Will we live before men, or will we live before God? Hidden sin may survive before people, but it never survives before God. And when hidden sin is tolerated, it exposes something devastating: we were never pursuing holiness at all. We were simply using the church—its language, its platform, its culture—to chase the same thing the world chases: reputation and public approval.
Let us repent. Let us return to the words of Jesus and sit with them slowly: “Hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Not recognition. Not influence. Not visibility. Righteousness!
This must become our desire, our passion, our pursuit—every moment we live. Jesus Himself is our pattern. For the first thirty years of His life, He had almost no reputation at all. No platform. No crowds. No applause. He was not seeking to be known—He was seeking to please the Father.
And that is the call before us now. Not to protect an image. Not to polish a ministry.
But to cry out with honesty: “Lord, give us Your nature—even if it costs us our reputation.”
Because a righteousness that exists only before people is hypocrisy.
But righteousness that exists before God is Holiness.
Prayer
Lord, We confess that we have often loved the praise of people more than the pleasure of Your presence. We have guarded our reputation while neglecting our hearts. Forgive us for tolerating hidden sin and calling it weakness instead of calling it disobedience. Strip us of every false image we have built and clothe us instead with the righteousness of Christ. Give us a holy hunger—not to be seen as righteous, but to truly become righteous. Search us, expose us, and transform us. We want Your nature, not a name. Your approval, not applause. Your holiness, not our image. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Quote : Public righteousness without private holiness is hypocrisy.