Going public with things done in secret

This was my response to a debate ongoing about the legitimacy of a public fast undertaken by Jim Wallis and others in response to the threat of US legislators cutting social programs further adding to the plight faced by America's poor people.

Interesting conversation re: fasting openly vs. fasting in secret.
The same can be said of prayer and almsgiving. To inspire others to pray, fast and give there is the requirement which Jesus himself modeled of being both open and secretive about it. We know he fasted for 40 days in the wilderness, we know what he prayed in the Gethsemene, we know he gave everything for our sakes - nothing secretive about those ventures.
But equally so, we know nothing of what he prayed on those occasions he sought solitude, nor what he gave to the temple in the days prior to his public ministry, nor of what he gave to the poor.
I think the real issue surrounding 'going public' about prayer, fasting and giving is motive. The instruction from Isaiah 58 and the teaching of Jesus is clear: if we do it for our sakes, it is in vain. But if we do it to identify with the poor, the oppressed and the forgotten, we are taking our place alongside Jesus the advocate for those without an advocate, the One who shares the authority of his name with the powerless...