Matthew 6.1-4

Why do you do the good things you do?

The next several passages of the Sermon on the Mount will challenge us with this question. So far in the sermon, Jesus has been talking about what it looks like to live in this upside-down kingdom of heaven. We've read how following Christ is about more than our actions; it's about the attitude of our hearts. Obedience is about more than abstaining from such sins as murder or adultery. It means getting rid of the hatred or the lust in our lives. Next, we'll see what following Christ means in how we do good things--namely, giving to the needy, praying, and fasting.

Here's what Jesus says in Matthew 6:1:

"Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."

This verse serves as the main thought for the next section, which includes Matthew 6:2-18. In essence, Jesus is asking, "Why do you do the good things you do?" He states that if the reason is so that others will notice you, congratulate you, or praise you, then you're totally on the wrong page. In fact, doing a good deed for the purpose of self-glorification negates the "goodness" of the act.

Over and over again through the gospels, we read about Jesus' confrontations with the Pharisees--the religious sect that placed heavy emphasis on not only obeying the Mosaic law, but also on following all of the oral tradition and "extra rules" that had been added to the law. One of Jesus' greatest critiques against the Pharisees is that they were more concerned with their "outward righteousness" than with their inner character. He says that they liked to draw attention to how pious and religious they were but that inwardly they weren't following God. In these verses about giving, praying, and fasting, it's easy for us to see the Pharisees as a good example of how we shouldn't live. They really, really liked being praised by men. Jesus calls us to direct praise to God alone.

In Matthew 6:2-4, Jesus gives an example of how this principle can be applied by looking at the practice of giving to the needy. He says:

"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 men. I tell you the truth, 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."

Jesus warns his listeners against being generous so that others notice it and commend you for it. He says that we shouldn't announce our giving with trumpets. That seems like a pretty silly picture, doesn't it? Can you imagine if, when the offering plates were passed at church, someone pulled out a bugle and started playing it as they threw in their check? It seems absurd. But the truth is that some people in Jesus' time were guilty of giving to be noticed, and honestly, this might happen in our own lives as well.

We probably don't play a trumpet to draw attention to ourselves and our giving. But maybe we do this in more subtle ways. When you make a contribution to a cause or when you give to the church, do you try to casually slip it into conversation? It might be something like the statement "Sorry, I would love to go out to lunch with you guys today, but I'm running a little low on cash right now. I put everything I had in my wallet in the offering plate today." Or maybe you begin to sponsor a child through Compassion International or World Vision, and you are sure to tell everyone you run into about your new commitment. Now, sponsoring a child like that is a wonderful thing, and if you do something like that, I hope that you're excited about it. And it's good to talk about and to encourage others to join in by sponsoring a child as well. But let's be careful to talking about it so that we can pad our own egos.

Have you ever been to a building where there will be names in the bricks or in the sidewalk, and each name is of someone who contributed to that building? Everyone likes to be recognized for being generous. The upside-down way of Jesus, however, is to give in secret. Why? Because our giving, or the other good things we do, are really not about us. Like Jesus has already said in Matthew 5:16, we let our lights shine so that the world might praise our Father. Our lives are meant to constantly be pointing to Him.

So again, why do you do the good things you do? Are you concerned more about pleasing God or pleasing others? Is your giving honestly in order to help those in need, or is it to add another badge to your righteousness-sash?

David Heffren