Is it all a show?

Why do we do what we do? Why do we act in certain ways? Do we act differently when we are around other Christians? Do we do and say things to impress people, to make them think that we are very spiritual?

People have been struggling with this probably since the Creation. We don’t want people to think badly of us even if we aren’t living up to the standard we know that we should. The Pharisees were prime examples of those who did things to impress people with how religious they were. They wanted the respect of the people and for the people to think that they were the epitome of faithfulness to God. Notice what Jesus said about this.

“Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1 NIV)

That is as true today as it was when Jesus said it almost two thousand years ago. Do we do what is right when others are around so that they will see us? Notice that there is no blessing in this – the people may be impressed but God isn’t! After all he knows and sees all that we do. Notice what some were were doing at that time.

“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 honoured by others…And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others…And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matthew 6:2-8)

Can you imagine such a scenario? Someone is going to give to the poor, but makes sure that everyone can see it and know about it. They would make a big deal about it with a trumpet fanfare so it would call attention to what they were doing and people would think they were wonderful. The equivalent today would be a celebrity giving a donation for some needy cause but making sure the cameras were rolling (and I’ve heard there are some who are like this).

What about our praying? The prayers being referred to here weren’t public prayers but their own private prayers – but they would pray in a public place so everyone could see how devout they were. When you consider that even private prayers were spoken out loud (as we see in Jesus’ story of the Pharisee and the tax collector), you can see the problem. They weren’t praying to communicate with God; they were praying so they would be praised by the people. Notice Jesus comment on doing things to be seen.

“Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:2,5)

If it was in full there would be no more reward for them. They weren’t showing their faithfulness but that they were simply acting like someone who was religious. How then should we approach our giving and our praying and anything else we do?

“Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4,6)

When we serve God we are not to look for accolades. It isn’t about trying to impress people with how religious we are. It is about serving God and serving others. The only one who needs to know about it is our Father in Heaven – and he knows what we do. His is the only praise and reward we should be concerned about.

Serving Jesus isn’t about power and position or about people seeing what we do and looking up to us. Serving Jesus isn’t about impressing people. It is about obeying him and trying our best to further his cause by telling and showing others what being a disciple is all about.

If we are living faithful lives we don’t need to try to impress anyone.

Image created by ChatGPT by Jon Galloway.

Readings for next week: Matthew 6-11