“Don’t
Seek Applause”
[Matthew
6:1-6, 16-18]
February
17, 2021 YouTube
Today is the first day of Lent: Ash Wednesday. Even if we cannot be in a church or receive
ashes, it is a good time to think about our sin which necessitated Jesus’ incarnating
to be our righteousness and to take on the debt for our sin.
Jesus
came to give us life – to free us from the death of slavery to sin, so we have
to live lives that are better than that of the Pharisees. Even though we tend to think of the times
that the Pharisees were hypocrites and condemned by Jesus, we need to remember
that the Pharisees did work exceedingly hard at keeping the whole Law of God. Despite their sin, their devotion to keeping
the Law was extraordinary and should be an example for us.
In
the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about three duties of the Christian –
sometimes called “the three great Christian duties,” how they have been
hypocritically followed, and how to follow them rightly. These are the giving of alms, praying, and
fasting.
These
duties are done hypocritically when we make them all about people noticing and
applauding what we have done. The duties
are done rightly when we do them privately and don’t seek to have others know
or give us applause for doing them.
First, we are to give to the needy as anonymously as
possible.
“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.”
Jesus begins by stating the way that
some are wrongly giving to the poor:
they are giving to the poor at times and in places where people will see
them giving, and when they give, they blow a trumpet to let people know they
are giving, so others will see what they are doing and applaud them.
It is wrong for us to announce to
anyone that we gave such and such an amount.
We are wrong to boast in our giving.
We are only doing our duty – loving our neighbor – when we give to the
church and other organizations that provide help to the needy.
Jesus says in doing that, they have
received their reward. There is no merit
in going around telling everyone how great you are for giving so much to this
or that – boasting that you gave this, or you subsidized that.
Jesus says, “But when you give a
feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be
blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13-14, ESV).
Jesus says if we can financially or
physically meet someone’s real need, we should do so. It is our duty contained in love of neighbor
to meet others’ real needs as we are able – not that we will be lauded or even
repaid, but because it is right, and we are able.
As Jesus says, “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.”
Our attitude in this duty should be
one of knowing how God has blessed us in Jesus, so, in thanksgiving, in the
ways we are able, we meet the needs of the needy, with no pomp, no show, no
thought of being repaid, or even thanked. We ought to give as anonymously as
possible.
As we do these good works with
humility and privately, God will reward us as He knows it is best for us. But – again – we shouldn’t be looking for a
reward – even from God – we ought to be so thankful and so obedient – that we
just give.
The author of Hebrews writes, “And
without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to
God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews
11:6, ESV).
Beginning today, let us help those in
need as much as we are able in love for them and in thanksgiving to God. Let us do so as privately as possible so God
would be thanked and receive the glory, and we would be obedient and loving
people as Christ has called us to be.
Second, we are to pray privately and
not draw attention to our praying.
“And when you pray, you must not be
like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at
the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they
have received their reward.”
Jesus says it is hypocritical to pray
out loud, drawing attention to yourself.
(Of course, it is good and right to pray with other people and in
worship, as well as in private – just not making a show of it.)
Some were standing in the synagogues
and on the street corners and loudly praying to no one in particular – because
the main purpose of their prayer was for people to see them as holy, religious
people – praising them for their eloquence in prayer.
Jesus talks about two people praying
in the synagogue: a Pharisee and a
tax-collector, and Jesus says that the Pharisee loudly “prayed” – the
tax-collector heard him: “The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God,
I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or
even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I
get’” (Luke 18:11-12, ESV).
The Pharisee – in this case – is not
praying to God – he is humiliating the tax-collector and heaping praise upon
himself. He wants others in the
synagogue to come up to him and tell him how great his prayer is and what a
righteous person he is – and agree with him that he is better than the
tax-collector and the others he names.
This is not love for neighbor.
This is not prayer. This is
hypocrisy.
Prayer is not about trying to make
others look bad or making us look good.
It is a time of our communication with God in which we ask God to make
us more like Jesus – to align our mind and will with God’s.
And in the section of the Sermon on
the Mount immediately following this text, Jesus gives the disciples a format
for prayer. He explains to them the
things a prayer should contain.
Think of the number of times we are
told in the Gospels that Jesus went off by Himself to pray. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told
the three to hold back while He went ahead to pray – and He prayed privately
before His Father about His Father’s Will and He submitted to it.
Jesus says, “But when you pray, go
into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And
your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Now, Jesus does not literally mean we
have to pray in a closet. If you want
to, that’s fine. The point is that –
except for those times of communal prayer – we ought to pray privately, away
from others, not showing off or desiring to be noticed, but truly seeking the
mind of God and the help of God the Holy Spirit to be obedient, growing into
the Image of Jesus.
Starting today, let us have regularly
– daily – at least – times of private prayer – times when we come before God in
private with no one else around listening or hearing us. Let us pray to God thanking Him and giving
Him praise, asking for our daily needs, asking for forgiveness for our sin,
asking for the needs of others – for our leaders, churches, family, etc. Pray that we would become the people God has
called us to be.
Finally, we are to fast without
bringing attention to our fasting.
“And when you fast, do not look
gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting
may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Some of the Pharisees were fasting –
as is good and right to do – and a duty at times – but they were making
themselves look as miserable as possible so people would ask them if they were
ok, and they could say that they were fasting – again, bringing attention to themselves,
rather than doing it for the right reasons.
Now, some people will ask if this is
still a duty for the modern Christian, since it is often associated with times
of mourning and repentance in the Bible, and it seems more like a ceremonial
duty, not a moral one, so maybe it can be skipped.
We can rightly say it is not
necessary to wear sackcloth and to cover yourself with ashes, we are to fulfill
the purpose of fasting.
For, others will argue, “But I have a
medical condition – or medications – that does not allow me to not eat for any
period of time,”
So, what is the point of
fasting? The point of fasting is to keep
the body under subjection. We are not to
submit to the desires of our bodies but be in control of them.
What does that mean?
One thing it means it that it is not
necessary to completely abstain from food when you are fasting. Completely abstaining from food is one way to
fast, but we can also fast – if we have a legitimate reason for it – by eating
less or by eliminating certain favored foods for a time – much like some
practice during the season of Lent.
Fasting of some kind can also be a
part of prayer – denying yourself to give yourself more time in prayer. David fasted and prayed for his enemies:
“But I, when they were sick—I wore
sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my
chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who
laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning” (Psalm 35:13-14, ESV).
To whatever degree we fast, Jesus
says, “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your
fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your
Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
As with giving to the needy and
praying, we are not to draw attention to ourselves – rather, we are to look
just like we normally do – not giving any indication that we are fasting. Denying ourselves and taking control of our
bodies for the sake of Christ – for being able to deny the impulses of the body
and concentrate on the Will of God, should be a time of private work between us
and God. If it is, then God will give us
what we seek in our obedience in fasting.
So, let us plan out a time – whether
for the season of Lent or another time – and plan to deny our bodies – to
discipline them and take control of them, so we will be able to use them to the
Glory of God and turn from sinning with our bodies. Let it become a regular
practice to deny our bodies and give ourselves to seeking God instead.
As we begin the season of Lent this
Ash Wednesday, let us remember these three duties we find in the Sermon on the
Mount. Let us seek to be obedient in
them, keeping our obedience to them as private as possible – desiring our obedience
between us and God. Let us not be
hypocrites seeking others’ applause for doing the things God has commanded us. Rather, let us seek first the Kingdom by
loving our neighbor and pursuing our growth in Christ Jesus.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for the opportunity
to do good works for the good of others and for our maturing in the faith and
growth in our being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Give us strength and guidance to know how
best to give to the needy, how to pray that we would be changed and have Your
mind and will, and how to best take control of our bodies, so we would not sin
against You with them. Help us not to be
hypocrites, but to live lives worthy of You.
For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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