Bonhoeffer: Hidden Devotion and the Simple Life

In Chapters 16 and 17, Bonhoeffer continues with the notion of hiddenness (The Hiddenness of the Devout Life) and moves onto The Simplicity of the Carefree Life.  The scripture reference is Matthew 6: 16 – 34, covering prohibitions against overt fasting for the sake of public recognition, admonitions to treasure only the eternal and lasting things of God, and encouragement to not worry but rather to trust that God knows and will meet all of our needs.  The overarching theme is that of contentment in God, trust in His providence and a desire only to be approved by Him—rejecting the approval of the world, the wealth and recognition of the world, and worries about what the future will bring.  We are not to seek public approval, but God’s approval; we are not to serve Mammon but only to serve God.  

The first commandment (regardless of the numbering strategy used by your tradition!) is “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  (Exodus 20: 2)  The meaning offered by Luther’s small catechism is “We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.”  The themes in Matthew 6: 16ff seem to flow from the words “fear, love and trust”; Jesus commands His disciples and us not to seek nor regard the opinions of others (6: 16-18); not to store up earthly wealth or put great emotional store in possessions (6: 19 – 24); and not to worry about the future nor rely on our own efforts to meet our needs (6: 25 – 34).  The only reward, the only opinion, the only wealth, that matters is that of God in Christ—our treasure in heaven, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life.  

In 1 Peter 1: 3 – 9, we are reminded that “In [God’s] great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time….you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine….”  The greatest treasure that we have is faith given us by grace, a faith which grabs hold of the salvation we are given in Christ. 

 And as Romans 8: 31b-32 reminds us “If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?”  These words echo Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?” Or again, in Matthew 10: 29-30, where Jesus tells His disciples that God the Father sees every sparrow that falls and has all of the hairs of their heads numbered—He knows the needs and provides for His children.  God knows both our physical needs and our spiritual needs, and He will provide for them both.  To doubt that fact—to put trust into people or things over and above God—is idolatry.  

Bonhoeffer not only writes against the temptation toward the idolatry of public praise for obvious acts of righteousness, but he specifically encourages private voluntary suffering as a way of mortifying flesh and drawing closer to God:  we not only reject idol worship, we are formed by our habits and outward discipline to worship God in truth and righteousness.  He says “When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.”  The devout life encouraged by Bonhoeffer in this chapter is one of intentionality, of habitual behaviors chosen and practiced so that one draws closer to God and the sinful flesh is humbled.  We constantly fight against “sloth and self-indulgence”; the more we fight our sinful flesh, the more aware we are of our tendencies to sin.  

“It is always true of the disciple that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and he must therefore “watch and pray.”  The spirit knows the right way, and desires to follow it, but the flesh lacks courage and finds it too hard, too hazardous and wearisome, and so it stifles the voice of the spirit.  The spirit assents when Jesus bids us love our enemies, but flesh and blood are too strong and prevent our carrying it out.  Therefore we have to practice strictest daily discipline, only so can the flesh learn the painful lesson that it has no rights of its own.”

Martin Luther says about baptism “It [Baptism] indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity.”  Our baptism brings us into Christ’s death and also into His resurrection (Romans 6: 3-11), and we are called to “…count [ourselves] dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus…because you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6: 11, 14).  The strict daily discipline Bonhoeffer calls us to engage in, I believe, should center around our daily remembrance of our baptisms and the need to daily drown our sinful selves.  In our baptism, we are given the greatest treasure, a treasure in heaven which will not fade or be destroyed (Matthew 6: 19-21) nor will it perish, spoil or fade (1 Peter 1:4).   No, we do not “worship” our baptism nor worship the abstract or intellectual idea of “faith”—we worship God, the source of our salvation and the Giver of faith and of all good things.  The daily ascetic discipline which Bonhoeffer encourages in his chapter on hidden devotion should have as its focus Christ, the Author and Perfector of our faith.  We do not presume to take upon ourselves any piece of our salvation, as if our suffering could contribute to the fullness of salvation we have in Christ.  But, as Bonhoeffer puts it “the motive of asceticism was more limited—to equip us for better service and deeper humiliation.” And later, “….the proper hiddenness of Christian behavior, to that humility which is wholly unselfconscious, even as the eye can see other people but can never see itself.”

This disciplined focus on Christ, and rejection of self, is the opposite of idolatry—the focus is only on God.  In the chapter on the simplicity of a carefree life, Bonhoeffer refers to Matthew 6: 22-23, which discusses the eye as the light of the body and the need to have a clear, discerning, good eye—one which is full of light.  The light of faith will illuminate all things inside and outside of a person.  As we fear, love and trust in God above all things and believe in the one He has sent (John 6: 29), we are full of light and not darkness.  Bonhoeffer says that “The singleness of eye and heart correspond to that “hiddenness” which knows nothing but the call and word of Christ and which consists in perfect fellowship with Him.”

In Exodus 20, where the Ten Commandments are found, God starts by saying “I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”  In Romans 8: 31, 32 we are reminded that God saved the world by the death of Jesus Christ—He saved us from the slavery of sin and death.  In both of these statements, we are reminded why we have no other gods:  our God rescued us from sin and death, He is all powerful and full of mercy and grace.  David says in Psalm 62: 11, 12 “One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: that You, O God, are strong, and that You, O God, are loving.”  It is on the basis of these truths demonstrated by God’s faithfulness and in particular by the death and resurrection of Jesus, that we honor God and serve no idols—it is not simply because of the command, but because He is worthy:  He is strong and He is loving.  When Jesus tells His disciples and us not to worry about what we will eat or drink or wear because God the Father will meet our needs, He is saying this within the larger context of God’s constant providence in the past and His plan of salvation for the world.  In the subsequent chapter, Matthew 7: 7 – 12, Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock—trusting that God knows how to give good gifts to those who ask Him.  

“But where are we to draw the line between legitimate use and accumulation [of possessions and property]?  Let us reverse the word of Jesus and our question is answered:  “Where thy heart is, there shall they treasure be also.”  Our treasure may of course be small and inconspicuous, but size is immaterial; it all depends on the heart, on ourselves.  And if we ask how we are to know where our hearts are, the answer is just as simple—everything which hinders us from loving God above all things and acts as a barrier between ourselves and our obedience to Jesus is our treasure, and the place where our heart is.”

If our hearts, our priorities, our focus, our preoccupation, our concerns, center on anything but loving God above all things and having faith in Jesus, the One He has sent—then our hearts are not in the right place.  “The only way to win assurance is by leaving tomorrow entirely in the hands of God and by receiving from Him all we need for today.”  Our fear, love and trust must be in God alone; anxiety about the future, striving for earthly wealth or power, and desire for human approval—all of these are false gods, idols which will ultimately betray us.  

1)      What false gods may exist in your heart and life—people, things, conditions or events which you prioritize, you stress about, you dwell on, you worry and obsess about?  What needs are you seeking to meet with these idols?  Is this causing anxiety or stress for you? How can those needs more truly be met by God in Christ?

2)      Bonhoeffer says that “Strict exercise of self-control is an essential feature of the Christian’s life….” and later “Regular daily prayer is a great help here, and so is daily meditation on the Word of God, and every kind of bodily discipline and asceticism.” What spiritual disciplines might you adopt or emphasize to draw you closer to God, to cause you to rely more on Him, to reject idolatry?  

3)      In Philippians 4: 19, Paul says “…God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  How has God met all of your needs?  Read Romans 8: 28 – 39; how does this passage give you confidence that God not only can meet your needs, but that He desires to do so?