Thursday, July 09, 2015

To be Seen of Others

Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)
"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others 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 others. Truly I tell you, 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.

Have you ever been challenged by these words of Jesus? 

In this scripture, there is an implication that we are already giving to others in need.

As humans, when we do something for others, there is an immediate temptation that follows "to be seen of others." 

James calls this the Pride of Life.

I think the problem comes from that issue of Identity. When our eyes fall off of Jesus, we seek significance in all the wrong places.

So in this scenario, you could actually be walking in obedience to the scriptures, doing the right thing, with a totally wrong heart.

That is exactly how the Pharisees lived their lives. 

We like to get mad at them as we read the Gospels and Acts, but if we are not careful, we find the heart of a Pharisee within ourselves.

So rather than struggle in these areas of having a hardened heart, let's put our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith!!

He said, your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you!