Matthew 6:1-4 (NASB) “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they will be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Praying everyone is having a good holiday season. It’s hard to believe that another year is almost over. I’m looking forward to having a weekend off and taking my son to Midland to visit my dad. But I’m also looking forward to getting back into a regular routine next week. We will resume our sermon series from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount next Sunday (January 7). We will pick up the series in Matthew 6.
Here, Jesus begins to deal with three spiritual disciplines: giving, prayer, and fasting. These three were the most prominent practical requirements for personal piety in mainstream Judaism. Matthew 6:1-4 contains Jesus’ warning that there is no righteousness in doing the right thing for the wrong reason. This flows from His teaching in chapter 5, which focused on the idea that thoughts and attitudes are as much part of righteousness as are behaviors. Those who do good things, motivated only by the approval of other people, will not be rewarded by God. Hypocrites arrange for everyone to notice their charity because they’re mostly concerned with worldly approval. True followers of Christ give quietly because they are not motivated by praise from others but rather on genuinely helping those in need. God the Father knows, and He rewards them.