"...when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing..." [Matthew 6:3]
2 Kings 2:1, 6-14. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord—Ps 30(31):20, 21, 24. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
‘Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.’
How tempting it is to be admired or envied for our virtue. The desire to be famous or well-liked is seen in the glut of reality TV shows of recent years. Here we are ‘entertained’ by those trying to lose weight, get married, swap husbands or wives, cook fabulously, live on a desert island or travel breathlessly around the world.
This contemporary desire for validation and adulation—to live in the spotlight—is reflected in Christ’s words of caution. To make a spectacle of religious practice, like the hypocrites, in order to make ourselves look good misses the point. God’s sees what is done in secret, and that’s what matters.
Lord, look into my heart and grant that I may pray without need of an audience and give to others inconspicuously, without desire for reward.
This contemporary desire for validation and adulation—to live in the spotlight—is reflected in Christ’s words of caution. To make a spectacle of religious practice, like the hypocrites, in order to make ourselves look good misses the point. God’s sees what is done in secret, and that’s what matters.
Lord, look into my heart and grant that I may pray without need of an audience and give to others inconspicuously, without desire for reward.
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