Don't be a Showoff

“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets so they may get praise from people. When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. When you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their face so people will know they are fasting.” Matthew 6:1-2, 5, 16 (CEB)

I would bet you have witnessed someone behaving like the above verses describe. I think about some of the TV preachers we see from time to time. Someone I knew years ago always shared how much money they had spent on different items. It makes me wonder if they had donated to some organization such as Samaritan’s Purse or had given a large sum to their church if they would have talked about that as well.

These words are not just suggestions; they are instructions and come with a promise. Following each directive we see these words: “Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.” What do we need to know about these rewards? I believe the following statement from gotquestions.org explains it well:

“God will reward you openly when you fast in secret” means a real Christian understands that, in the kingdom of heaven, we perform our righteous deeds to a private audience of One—that is, God. We can fool a crowd of human spectators in the public arena, but God knows the truth in our hearts. Jesus saw the inestimable value of the widow’s offering of two small copper coins (see Mark 12:41–44). He also saw greed in the hearts of the scribes who “parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished” (Mark 12:38–40, NLT).

Prayer and religious behavior can be used interchangeably in this statement along with fasting. It is of utmost importance to remember that the self-righteous prefer the praise of men, and their reward is temporary, earthly, and fleeting. In the end, eternal punishment awaits them. But those who choose the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ will give, pray, and fast in secret—their faith will be expressed in bona fide, selfless devotion. And the Father will openly reward their faith with eternal life in His kingdom.

May we guard against being a showoff in what we do for the Lord. May we always go into that ‘secret place’ whether we’re praying, fasting or completing acts of compassion. Great is our reward when we follow the example Jesus has set.

I may not get credit from earth’s selfish crowd; I may not hear accolades spoken out loud, No recognition for things I have done Until I meet Jesus, God’s only Son. That will be glory! A wonderful day! When I am promoted my Father will say: "Well done, faithful servant; come sit with the Lord, You have been faithful, you’ve earned your reward."

--Greta Zwaan