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. 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. 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. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. - Matthew
6:1-4
Fellow Believers,
There
is no doubt that Jesus wants us to do good things for others. He wants
us to love our neighbors and to give to those who have needs. That’s
just a part of what it means to follow Him. But Jesus never looks just
at the outward act of righteousness. He focuses, instead (and most intently), on the
intentions of our hearts. Why are we helping others? Is it to be
well-thought of? Or is it an act of worship before the Lord?
Most
of the Sermon on the Mount deals with doing right things with right
motives. Jesus never wants us to focus on just the horizontal; whether
it is giving, fasting, or praying. Instead, the call is to do these acts
vertically. Look to the Lord to engage in deeds of 'service and kindness,'
as acts of worship. Desiring His Pleasure and not the affirmations or
thanks from others.
One
of the more challenging aspects of following Christ is to rightly
discern our own reasons for doing what we do, or saying what we say.
If
you are like us, we can recall those moments and times in our lives when we have done
(or said) “good things;” not because of the call of Christ, but to be
liked, or thought well of. There are those moments where we have gone the extra mile, not because it is commanded
by Jesus, but so that another
person will do something for us in return.
Even
when we think that we don’t want acknowledgment or thanks for our actions; so often, deep inside, we wonder why nobody said anything, why there was no thank you, no acknowledgement of our sacrifice, our kindness, our 'self-less-ness.' It is
precisely here where prayer enters in. We MUST ask the Lord to examine our
hearts, to still and steady our mind, and to bind up our ego. Praying Psalm 139:23-24 can be helpful: “Search me, O God, and know
my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any
offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
The
Lord is not constrained by the selfishness of our own desires.
And when
we ask Him to search us . . . He Will.
As Our Fathers' Holy Spirit reveals to us the
habits and ways that we ofttimes continue to do (or say things) for wrong reasons; we are, in that moment, being
given the opportunity to repent and return to 'humble, selfless service' that
honors the Lord.
- Marilyn
~ Prayer ~
Thank You Lord,
For giving me the privilege of serving others.
Your Word says that You
came not to be served, but to serve.
I want to serve others so that I
will become more like You.
Guard my heart Lord, that my service would
not be to attract attention to myself; but instead to You. Search my
heart and see if there is any 'offensive way' in me.
Finally, show me - Father God - how to serve
others, so that my left hand does not know what my right hand is doing.
In Your Son Jesus' Name,
Amen
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