Why some Christians refer to remain private Christians.

An interred monk at the Capuchin monastery in Palermo, Sicily

Some Christians remain private because they’re embarrassed. Some are shy. Some don’t really believe. Some do believe and remain inscrutable for political expediency (public office, business leadership, etc).

But there are some who bare themselves so utterly before God in the practice of personal piety, that to speak of it publicly would be painful and humiliating. You will still see them praying, giving, caring, reading the bible, but you will rarely hear them talk of it.

American Gothic by Grant DeVolson Wood (Wikimedia Commons)

And that is certainly not to say that the converse is true - that those who do speak publicly on matters of faith do not have that same piety. I suspect many do, but that is something that takes a certain steeled spirituality that I don’t possess.

I am thinking mostly of my family here; the men especially were of this type. Dad, Grandpa Cairns, Grandpa Grandy. Strong silent men. Good and devout. Men who lived their faith rather than talk about it. The Cairns & Grandy women are the same way, but for some reason the images of the men are in my head at the moment.

[2014-02-17]

c0