The concept of virtue signaling might seem rather new these days, but it is as old as humanity itself.

Virtue signaling is the conspicuous, intentionally out-in-the-open expression of moral values, moral righteousness, or political orthodoxy.

It can be as small as dropping a key word or phrase here or there, a bumper sticker, or a social media post to signal your virtue or allegiance to the right cause, ideology, or value system.  It can also be something bigger like joining a highly zealous group and making sure everyone – or at least the people you want to impress or feel better than – knows about it.

Sometimes virtue signaling can be much bigger though.  Sometimes people will publicly donate large amounts of money to a cause or organization specifically to show how generous and wonderful they are.  Sometimes people adopt children to show what great parents, or people they are.  Sometimes people adopt children from another race to show how not racist they are.  Other times people commit a desperate and destructive act that doesn’t advance their cause, but does signal to everyone how committed they are.

One of the tricky things about virtue signaling is that the audience people often want to convince the most is not other people, but themselves.  Sure they want other people to think they are good, moral, committed, someone to admire and look up to – of course.  Often times though, the person they want to convince the most that they are generous, on the right side, not racist, good parents, and generally good people. . .is themselves.  They want to believe good things about themselves but are afraid those things aren’t true.  People who struggle with shame and insecurities are particularly susceptible to this unhealthy drive.

So what does Jesus have to say about all of this?  In Matthew 6:1-6, Jesus says:

“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.

⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

In other words, when it comes to virtue signaling, Jesus says, “Don’t do it.”  It’s not good for your soul.  Some of the most important, beautiful, and right things you will ever do will never be seen by anyone but God – and that is good for your soul.  

I love that Jesus starts this teaching with the words “be careful.”  Virtue signaling is something all of us can stumble into.  We also need to “be careful” because there are really good things that we do and need to do that are public and out in the open.

Many times you cannot effectively advocate for an important cause in secret and you certainly can’t adopt a child into your family in secret.  But we still need to “be careful.”

I think Martin Luther King Jr. is a helpful example for us here.  Before he led a march or a demonstration he would gather with the participants for days and they would fast and pray to make sure their hearts were right, to make sure they were doing the right things for the right reasons, and that they were ready to love anyone who came against them or the people marching or protesting alongside them.

To sum it all up – “Be careful and guard your soul against virtue signaling.”

[Update: It’s been almost a week since I wrote this and looking back there are parts of it that I think could come across as too harsh and jarring.  Especially the parts about adoption.  My own particular experiences, issues, and the particular stories I carry are coming through here and could be taken wrong by others.  Sara’s contribution in the comments about us not turning our caution about virtue signalling into an invitation to another spiritual pitfall, judgmental-ism is an important contribution.  Jesus told us to “be careful” for our own sake, to watch our own self – not keep an eye on others or set others straight.  I’m leaving this up because I still think it adds something important to the conversation, though I would make some adjustments if I was writing it again. – ND]