Beware of the Show-Off

Day 7: Matthew 6: 1-24

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." Matthew 6: 3 ESV

Jesus goes right after the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They were the supposed experts, and they weren't shy about flaunting their expertise. Their giving, their prayer lives, and their fasting became nothing more than a show. Everything was right on the outside, but everything was wrong on the inside.

Beware of the experts, the show-offs. Those that thrive on notoriety.

One thing that really strikes me in today's reading is that Jesus doesn't just give us examples of giving, praying, and fasting; He makes assumptions that we will be actively involved in doing them. He says, "When you" not "If you."

It seems that in an effort not to overburden those that follow Jesus, we soften the expectations. We say things like, "If you have time" or "It only takes five minutes." Is this the kind of faith that Jesus has called us into?

Those that follow Jesus will be generous. They will pray with ferocity. They will deny themselves through fasting. We won't do it so that others can see us; we will follow through because we know that God sees us.

"We serve a God who looks upon the heart, not mere outward appearance (cf. 1 Sam 16:7), therefore religious devotion begins with the heart and the inner motivations behind the external act." - Chouinard, L. (1997). Matthew (Mt 6: 3–4)

When it comes to how Jesus sees us, He’s much more interested in our hearts than our heroics.