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1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “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. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Vs. 1: Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of other to be seen by them.
Doing a good thing for the express purpose of others seeing you so they think more highly of you.
2 “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. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Vs. 4: Sees what is done in secret - will reward you.
Our sinful nature is so subtle that it can defile even a good thing like sharing with the poor.
If our motive is to get the praise of men, then like the Pharisees, we will call attention to what we are doing.
But if our motive is to serve God in love and please Him, then we will give our gifts without calling attention to them.
As a result, we will grow spiritually; God will be glorified; and others will be helped.
But if we give with the wrong motive, we rob ourselves of blessing and reward and rob God of glory, even though the money we share might help a needy person.
Does this mean that it is wrong to give openly? Must all giving be anonymous?
Not necessarily, for everyone in the early church knew that Barnabas had given the income from the sale of his land (Acts 4:34–37). When the church members laid their money at the Apostles’ feet, it was not done in secret. The difference, of course, was in the motive and manner in which it was done. A contrast is Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11), who tried to use their gift to make people think they were more spiritual than they really were.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
Hypocrites: This word had its origins in Greek theater, describing a character who wore a mask.
Private fasting and prayer has a way of unmasking the fake you.
We must pray in secret before we pray in public.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Vs. 6: Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Boxers and MMA fighters will train in secret. Why? Because they don’t want their opponent to know how serious they are taking the fight. When they show up to the fight you will hear commentators say things like “you can tell he put in the work”.
One pastor said “God can’t keep secrets”. - When we pray privately He will reward publicly.
Private discipline releases public reward.
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans
Prayers are not to be merely recited, nor are our words to be repeated thoughtlessly, or as if they were automatic formulas. But this teaching does not prohibit stubborn persistence.
We must pray sincerely (vv. 7–8). The fact that a request is repeated does not make it a “vain repetition”; for both Jesus and Paul repeated their petitions:
Jesus in the Garden: (Matt. 26:36–46;
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
He went away a second time and prayed
44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Paul: 2 Cor. 12:7–8).
7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
Three times I pleaded.
A request becomes a “vain repetition” if it is only a babbling of words without a sincere heart desire to seek and do God’s will. The mere reciting of memorized prayers can be vain repetition. The Gentiles had such prayers in their pagan ceremonies.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Native American tribe right of passage:
Young boys to become young warriors
Climb to the top of the mountain.
Some would quite, some would go half way and say they went to the top.
Some would go all the way to the top.
To verify if they went to the top the chief would ask each boy what did you see?
If they went all the way they would say they saw something they have never seen before. (The ocean) Then the Chief would know who did and did not.
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “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. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.