Day 11: February 7

Matthew 6:1-6; 6:16-18

SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT
Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

OBSERVATION
Matthew begins with a serious warning: Beware! Watch out! Don’t perform your righteousness for an audience of people.

Three examples of fake righteousness follow, all with the same structure:

1. When you give/pray/fast…
2. Don’t do what the hypocrites do to be praised and seen by others.
3. An emphatic statement: “Truly I say to you!” I really, really mean this!
4. The result: Public attention is the hypocrite’s only reward. That’s all they get.
5. BUT (in contrast to the hypocrite) give/pray/fast in secret
6. Second result: Your Father who is in secret, and sees in secret, will reward you.

What’s the reward? We aren’t told. It’s a secret, too.

Hypocrite: In the original Greek it means “an actor” or “stage player”.  More interesting background here.

“Sound no trumpet” I’d be willing to bet this is where we get the saying “Blow your own horn.”

“Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” This cracks me up. Your secrecy should be so absolutely secret that your two hands keep each other in the dark. (It’s no more possible than stuffing a hulking camel through a teeny, tiny hole.)  Jesus is underlining the importance of secrecy with a red pen and a neon yellow highlighter: Don’t even talk to yourself about how righteous you are.

Question for further study: What's the importance of stressing the secret nature of God and his kingdom? How does that compare to our expectations for how God's kingdom looks?

APPLICATION
If you parade your piety in public for likes and approval, your Father in that secret place, heaven, won’t hand you an Oscar, or an Emmy, or even a “Well done!” You’ll get absolutely nothing from him. He knows who we really are. He isn’t impressed with our drama and he isn’t fooled by our character.

We shouldn’t casually assume that Jesus’ warning doesn’t actually apply to us because we’d never give alms to the poor with blowing trumpets, or pray loudly on street corners, or sit around sighing while wearing sackcloth and ashes.

In what ways am I tempted to practice righteousness before other people? Do I think public prayers should be impressive? At what point did the prayer, “Oh, God, help me!” become inadequate? Do I say grace conspicuously in restaurants? Do I blow my own horn? Am I guilty of virtue signaling or grandstanding on social media? Do I vigorously boycott those really bad sinners? In the secret place of my heart am I the star of my moral daydreams? Do I pat myself on the back for my generosity and largess? Do I feel pressured to conform to and perform for other Christians? Am I hungry for fame? Acclaim? Approval? What am I going to do about all of this?

PRAYER
Oh Father, you see me as I really am. I can’t fool you or impress you. I admit I am a sinner just like everyone else. All my righteousness comes from you. Forgive me for the ways I try deceive others and even lie to myself about who I am. Help me to stop play acting. Give me the grace, courage, and strength I need to be honest and open with you and with people. Make it so.