Earlier, in Matthew 5:13 - 16
16 ”Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
I commented, “The picture is clear. Jesus does not want separate, withdrawn, dull followers.” I went so far as to say he wanted us to be flavorful!
How does that line up with the text today?
1“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others
to be seen by them.”
At first glance, these two teachings seem to point us in different directions. We read in one place, “let your light shine before men” and in another “do not practice your righteousness in front of others”?
Let’s dig in.
Jesus is talking very specifically about the things religious folks do regularly: prayer, almsgiving, and fasting.
These disciplines are critical to a life of devotion—and they are often done in community, in the church building.
Jesus, in each of his examples, is very descriptive of the behavior, noting that certain people are carrying on in front of others to show how pious they are. He calls them hypocrites—actors.
In other words they are not really interested in pleasing God.
Jesus’ teaching strikes at our hearts. He is essentially asking us, “What is your motivation for praying, almsgiving and fasting?
Is it to be seen an honored by men and women? If so, okay then, you’ve gotten your reward, but don’t think God doesn’t understand who you are really serving.
If it is out of love and obedience to God, then do it in a way that will not be obvious.
One person suggested to me they needed to find their balance point. They were suggesting that when they are “doing good works”, that they consciously think about how to do these without drawing attention to themselves.
I am not opposed to this sort of thinking, but I do believe there is a step before it. That step is to check your heart. As we pray, and give, and fast—as we do everything—are we connected to God and are we doing it to put a smile on our Father’s face?
Consider an analogy. When you first fall in love, you want to do things to put a smile on the face of your new-found love. People who watch you, know your motivation. You don’t need to worry about a balance point, in fact you probably don’t care.
What if, when we were praying, giving alms, fasting, and more—what if we were so connected that in the deepest parts of our heart we simply wanted to put a smile on the Father’s face?
Take one part of your life today, and think for a moment, what might you do to put a smile on God’s face?