November 10 – Matthew 6:1-18
Take Heed
These words of Jesus are a warning about how the three spiritual disciplines of giving, prayer and fasting should be practiced. He tells His hearers that these should be done in secret – just between themselves and God. Then they will be rewarded by God.
The giver is to give in secret, telling no one. Prayer is to be done in secret, behind closed doors. Fasting should not be a show, and no one should know you are doing it. Nothing should change about your outward appearance.
Jesus is not saying that there should never be joint giving, public prayer, or fasting. That would contradict other scripture. Jesus gave instructions about how to pray in what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” and this prayer (vs. 9-15) is often said corporately. Queen Esther called a public fast before she went before the king to plead for the lives of her people (Esther 4:15-16). Jesus’s warning concerns our motives in doing them. If our goal is to receive praise for ourselves, and look good in front of others, He calls us hypocrites (or pretenders). All these spiritual disciplines should be done for His honor and glory only. Jesus gives us great news when He promises that we will be rewarded by our Heavenly Father if we do what He asks us to do, whether anyone else knows or not. He sees.
Jesus digs deep down in His sermon and confronts us about how self righteous we really are, and He wants to change that in us. He knows we can all be prone to want others to know what we are doing and receive praise for ourselves.
So, I must ask myself each day, “What is more important?” Do I want to receive very temporary rewards of praise and accolades here on earth, or receive an eternal reward from God for giving, praying and fasting the way He instructs me?
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 6:1 KJV
Help me, Lord! May my motive always be to enhance YOUR reputation, bringing YOU all honor and glory! Keep me humble, Lord, and may You increase, and I decrease.
