Matthew 6:1-4
“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. 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.
Tag: Secretly practice your righteousness
The above passage makes it clear that the righteous acts we do are to be done for the glory of God. They are NOT to be done in front of men to solicit the praise of men. In our society today we have too many who are blasting their own horn to let the world know what they gave, or did, for the purpose of self-promotion and the praise of men. Jesus' teaching here is not to say we are never do an act of grace in front of men. In 1 Samuel 30 we see David seek the wisdom of God in front of his 400 angry men (who at the time were ready to stone him). He purposefully sought God's guidance as a way to show his men God was still with them and still in charge. But, he did not do so for the purpose to drink from the glory of men. We are to secretly practice our righteous acts (that Christ enables us to perform). They are only righteous acts if they are done in the power of Christ. If they are done in our power they are not righteous. Doing something for others to comfort them ought to be done to the praise and glory of God and in secret as much as possible so that we are glorified, but God is.
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