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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
“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 others. Truly I tell you, 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.”
Matthew 6:2-4
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be
to God.
In yesterday’s devotion, the final in the series titled “To
Another Level”, we saw where Jesus cautioned His followers to not seek public
attention for their acts of righteousness, as if being seen and recognized by
man was the intended reward sought. Rather, Jesus was compelling His listeners
to always make the Lord the focus of their attention and affection so that He
might be the One glorified and magnified.
As I start a new series today, “Who Are You Glorifying?”,
we see Jesus building on this matter of not seeking self exaltation and
adoration but rather keeping the Lord as the focal point of all that we do. He
first addresses the matter of giving to those in need. Look again at these
verses here:
“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 others. Truly I tell you, 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.” Matthew 6:2-4
In all three of the devotions in this series, we will
find Jesus using the word “hypocrites” to describe those who are giving,
praying, and fasting in appropriately. The world would define a hypocrite as
someone who espouses a principle and then fails to live up to the principle. A
quick look at the dictionary renders these meanings:
1. a person who puts on a false appearance of
virtue
or religion.
2. a person who acts
in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.
The problem with the synagogue hypocrites is
that they were going out of their way to let others know they were giving to
the needy. Jesus accused their actions as if they were announcing their charity
with the sound of trumpets, drawing attention to their acts of goodness with
great fanfare.
In other words, the hypocrites Jesus referred
to were most interested in glorifying themselves. Maybe you have seen more than
a few of these kind of people in your own church or within Christian circles. I
know I have. These people seem to have an unquenchable need for the attention
and adoration of others, the need to have some kind of public recognition and
acknowledgement of their righteousness. The spotlight always has to be in them
and it was this behavior that Jesus was railing against.
So what are Christians supposed to do when it
comes to their giving to the needy, something Jesus calls on all His disciples
to do?
Go back to our scripture verses for today
where we find Jesus providing the answers. There we see that we are to give in
secret, not to honor ourselves in the sight of others, but rather to honor and
glorify our Lord who sees everything we do, whether in public or private. And
when we do give in secret, we’re not to do so with the intent of garnering the
praise and worship of those we are helping. Rather, we are to place the Lord at
the forefront, ensuring we let those receiving help know that the help is
coming from the Lord through us, that we are simply being used as instruments of
the goodness and assistance the Lord desires to provide. We are to encourage
and exhort the needy to give thanks to the Lord and the Lord alone for all He
is doing for them, reminding them that He has done good for them in the past
and will do good for them in the future. All they need to do is place their
faith, hope, and trust in Him and Him alone.
When we approach our giving with this attitude, obedient
to the teaching of Jesus, then we gain our reward from simply allowing those we
aid to grow into a closer relationship with the Lord who provides for His
people, thankful that He has used us in a special way to make a difference in
His kingdom here on earth.
Going back to the original question which serves as the
title for this three devotion series:
Who are you glorifying?
If it’s you, then it’s time to change the way you’re
acting in the sight of the Lord. It’s time to stop being a hypocrite.
If you’re completely giving the Lord all the honor,
glory, and praise, then that's awesome! Continue to do so in obedience to Jesus’
teaching.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at His guidance on prayer.
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be
blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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