Today’s Reading: Matthew 5; Matthew 6; Matthew 7
Scripture: Matthew 6
1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, 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 men. I tell you the truth, 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 men. I tell you the truth, 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."
Observation: Jesus' teaching in these three chapters in today's reading is amazing. So many wonderful and also challenging principles. Here Jesus is telling them to practice their religion in a private way -- a way so that it does not draw attention from other people.
Application: It seems God wants to be sure that as we do "acts of righteousness," whether it be giving to the poor or praying or whatever, we are doing it for Him, and not for PR. PR is a corrupting factor in people's lives. If I do something for PR, that is so I increase my positive Public Relations, then my motivation is essential selfish, based on pride. Lots of people go to church and act a certain way so that others will think better of them. God doesn't want that kind of religiousity. He wants us to do righteous acts because we love Him and want to please Him -- we are playing to an audience of One: God Almighty. I need to always inspect my motivation and eliminate those things that could possibly taint my spiritual life with pride. (Oh, and notice that Jesus says we are to do this preemptively -- to remove even the possibility of a less-than-pure motivation. Interesting.)
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You want to know me and relate to me. I am amazed that You are interested in me at all. But I am thankful. Help me to live for You and You alone. To do good because of Your nature which You have birthed in me and to cultivate the life of Your Spirit in my life, that I might know You and please You more.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 comment:
Doing good when no one is looking is the key to knowing whether or not his character has truly been worked in us. If we do good when there is no possible praise that can come to us from it then we know that we are doing it out of love for God with no corrupting motivation.
Post a Comment