To Be Seen

Matthew 6:1 “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.

Motives can be hard to judge in other people. Motives are often hidden from view, easily covered up using magician’s slight of hand, or a degree in acting. We often question our own motives at times.

Humans are complicated beings, and this is reflected in our decision making. There are often multiple factors that come into play, often with competing pulls on the decision to be made. Just think about the political candidates and how difficult it is to choose!

I don’t think there are many easy decisions in life. I think they are all complicated, because there are so many implications and second and third order affects that need to be considered. I guess the one exception is food. I will always take fresh sushi over almost anything else!

Our text begins a section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, as it is traditionally named, and this section starts with our verse. This verse sets up then next three examples of what a member of the Kingdom would do to live out holiness. How we deal with our money, how we pray, and how we focus in on our relationship with the Lord are discussed.

But this verse gives us a window into understanding these three example of the outworking of the presence of God’s kingdom in the life of a person. It is a hidden thing that can’t be seen that determines the quality of the action. And there is one motive that disqualifies many actions from mattering in the Kingdom scoring system.

If we do things in order “to be seen,” then those things don’t count. They are not acceptable to the LORD. But how can you tell if people are doing things “to be seen?”

That is what is at issue. The actions of two people might be identical, and one be accepted and the other rejected based on whether it was done “to be seen.” Both could be standing in front of the camera giving the same speech, and one wouldn’t make the grade.

We are responsible to test whether our motive is “to be seen.” Notice how many times in this first half of chapter six of Matthew that the word “you” is used. This is a personal sifting process. We must examine ourselves to see our motives.

But that isn’t always accurate either. We do have the ability to deceive even ourselves. We can talk ourselves into sin, if we want to. We can say, “It isn’t so bad” right before we jump into the habitual mud.

We must take time, allow the Holy Spirit to shine His light into our souls, and allow the washing of the Word to have its affect on our lives. We must be open to others about our struggle and allow godly counsel to be heard by inner being. Examining our motives is hard work, exhausting work. But it is the necessary work of every follower of Jesus.