Matthew 6:1-4 “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.“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Wow! Apparently, humans have been behaving the same way for a long time. Jesus saw a group of people doing the right things for all the wrong reasons. His words and clear and direct. It is not just them he was calling out. When I pause and consider my actions, I get called to account. Why do I do what I do? Repentantly, I confess, I want my good deeds to be recognized by people. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I desire to walk in humility. The praise of people is a crummy reward compared with the reward of the Father. There is more.
Clearly, as stated above, his words impact individuals. But what about churches and other Christian institutions? Does our church do good deeds in order to be recognized by others? As our church does outreach and serve events, do these verses impact the way we do them? Jesus does not honor marketing passes. Churches are called to function with institutional and missional piety. Slapping the name of our church on everything we do seems like a good idea. But I wonder? Would Jesus turn to us and say “Church beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.” It is possible for an institution to be known by people and unknown by God. We should never want to settle for that! We want a greater reward than public recognition.
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