The God-Seeking Heart
Matthew 6:1-6 “Beware of practicing your piety before men 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 alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 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 men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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.”
Along the same subject of yesterday’s post, here we are instructed by our Savior, Jesus Christ, to not seek out the praise of men. If we are to perform good works, don’t alert other people to our good works or else we will have received the reward we were looking for which was the attention of men. Jesus instructs us to go into a room, shut the door, and pray in secret to our Father.
When we give to the poor, give to the church, give of our time to others, or pray for others, we should not do this for the praise and attention of other people. The Lord will reward us when we do things for Him and not for ourselves. While giving alms and praying for other people is… for other people, we should carefully scrutinize our intentions. Are we looking to be seen as we give? Are we looking for opportunities to pray publicly so others can hear our words? Are we looking for an opportunity to insert our knowledge into the conversation so that others may admire us? Do we want to serve in order to climb a ladder of ranks? We should approach things with a humble heart that is not self-seeking. We should approach things with a humble heart that is God-seeking.