Posts
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Last
week I spoke about wake-up calls and how the Sermon on the Mount is a wake-up
call from the heart of Jesus.
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Jesus
said that God's kingdom is available for spiritual nobodies.
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To
get into the kingdom, everyone needs goodness inside that's greater than any
amount of religious rule keeping.
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My
life can never be good enough no matter how many rules I follow.
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I
need goodness in me that is beyond the attitude that keeps track of all the bad
things I do not do.
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I
need goodness in me that exceeds the old adage: I don't drink; I don't smoke; I
don't chew; and I don't go with those who do.
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Jesus
knew that religious rules and regulations cannot cure the real problem in the
human heart, so he had to address the source of the problem.
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The
only thing that is able to go beyond the attitude that says, "I
didn't," is love.
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It
is the love of our perfect heavenly Father that Jesus said is available in
God's kingdom.
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It
is the love of God which changes the human heart.
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True
goodness comes from a relationship with God; a good heart comes from intimately
knowing God.
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The
key to understanding Jesus whole sermon is Matthew 5:20.
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"Unless
your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven."
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With
that verse, Jesus revealed that he was not giving a new set of laws; rather he
was describing a righteousness or goodness that comes from being in right
relationship with our perfect Father in heaven.
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Through
that relationship, God's love lives within us and is expressed through us.
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That
is what Jesus describes in his sermon.
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In
Matthew 6, Jesus also described two desires that can form blockages in our
relationship with God.
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We
find the first desire in Matthew 6:1.
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"Beware
of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by
them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven."
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If
I am living for the kingdom of heaven, then I am not living for the approval of
people, rather I am living to please God; I am living for his approval.
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Our
desire for the approval of others can become a trap that creates a blockage in
our relationship with God.
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Jesus
gave his listeners three situations where they might commonly find the
temptation to seek others' approval: almsgiving, praying, and fasting.
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In
all three examples, Jesus warned his listeners not to be like the hypocrites.
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To
understand what Jesus was talking about, we have to understand what Jesus meant
by hypocrites.
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Hypocrite
is a term from Greek theatre which was well known all over the ancient world.
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A
hypocrite was simply an actor, and actors, at that time as now, played roles
pretending to be someone other than who they really were.
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The
goal of an actor, a hypocrite, was to entertain and to win the approval of the
audience the crowd. They were on the stage to be seen.
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Actors
have always done what they do to be seen by others.
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Jesus
warned against almsgiving, praying, and fasting merely for the approval of
others because it's just playacting, only pretending, for the reward of just
being seen.
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Jesus
warned his disciples because he didn't want them playacting.
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Jesus
wanted his disciples to be in touch with what is real.
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If
I am doing what I am doing just to be noticed, then I have fallen into the
trap.
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The
problem is not whether or not someone sees me doing a good deed.
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The
problem is doing good so that others will see.
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Also,
if I expect others to see me, then I will expect their approval.
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I
must not be like a hypocrite, playacting for the approval of a large audience.
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Instead,
I must act seeking the approval of a small audience of One.
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As
the apostle Paul wrote, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do
everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him" (Colossians 3:17, ESV).
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Let's
take a look at Jesus' three examples.
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First,
almsgiving.
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"When
you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do...that
they may be praised by others... but when you give to the needy, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matthew 6:2-3, ESV).
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Jesus
said that when we give to the needy, let it be about God's glory, not ours.
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Religious
folks in Jesus' day literally blew a trumpet when they gave so that everyone
would see.
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Those
who give without thinking about which hand is doing the giving show they are
really focused on God not themselves.
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Jesus
exaggerated to make a point. It's not
possible to give without one hand knowing what the other is doing.
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It's
a question of motive. Am I giving to be seen by others or am I giving to
display God's mercy?
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Giving
must be from a relationship with God because he stirs up compassion for others.
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We
do not give to be noticed; hypocrites give to be noticed.
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Second,
according to Jesus: Hypocrites also pray to be noticed.
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"For
they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that
they may be seen by others" (Matthew 6:5, ESV).
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For
the hypocrite prayer is about looking devoted, and they get what they want,
people see them looking devoted.
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How
we sound or look to others when we pray must become our least concern.
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When
we pray, our first concern must be our focus on our Father in heaven has Jesus
taught his disciples.
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When
we pray from that place of relationship with our heavenly Father, rather than a
place of hypocritical self-seeking, or mindless repetition, then God honors our
honest prayers.
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Like
when we give to show God's mercy, prayer is also a matter of the heart being in
right relationship with God.
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Kingdom
praying is all about being completely honest with God.
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The
model prayer Jesus gave his disciples is a guide for how to keep our prayer
lives honest as we strive to put God first in everything.
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Also,
using this passage as a case against public prayer is to ignore the times in
Scripture where public prayer is shown as important. Motives are what matter.
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Third,
according to Jesus: "when you fast, do not look gloomy like the
hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others"
(Matthew 6:16, ESV).
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While
fasting helped the faithful to focus more on God, for the hypocrites it was all
about making sure others knew they were fasting.
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The
hypocrites screwed up their faces so that everyone would see.
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They
wanted their fasting to be noticed and Jesus said that they were noticed.
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Instead
of trying to look haggard and worn when we fast, Jesus wants us to do our
personal care and grooming, take a shower, get enough sleep.
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What
motivates my fasting? Am I motivated by the approval of others or is it my
desire to draw near to God and practice disciplining my body so I learn
self-control?
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We
now come to the last part of chapter 6 and the second trap that can block our
relationship with God.
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The
second trap is our desire for security through material wealth.
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When
Jesus talked about not storing up treasure on earth and not being anxious about
your life, he pointed to the danger of looking for security outside the kingdom
of heaven.
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Perhaps
it's been around long enough that everyone has seen the bumper sticker that
says, "He who dies with the most toys wins."
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That
way of thinking is exactly the kind of trap Jesus was talking about.
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Having
treasures is part of what it means to be human.
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Allowing
the drive for accumulating treasures to control relationships with God and
others reveals a heart which treasures the wrong things.
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Earthly
treasures do not last; they ware out, break, fail, or maybe even get stolen;
only treasures stored in heaven are truly secure, neither forces of nature nor
forces of evil can touch what is stored in heaven.
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When
our motives are for loving God with all that we are and our neighbors as
ourselves, everything we do matters forever.
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When
we treasure the kingdom of heaven, then everything we see will be right and
good.
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When
we treasure earthly wealth, then everything we see is distorted and dark.
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It
is not possible to serve both God and earthly wealth.
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The
bumper sticker has it all wrong. Winning in life is not about treasuring toys,
but treasuring God and others.
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The
trap of our desire for earthly wealth, Jesus said, also has another part.
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Not
only did Jesus warn against storing up treasure on earth, but Jesus also warned
about being anxious about life.
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"Therefore
I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you
will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than
food, and the body more than closing?" (Matthew 6:25, ESV).
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Statistics
claim that one in five or 20% of Canadians suffer from of mental illness, and
those are only the reported cases.
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Worry
seems to be one of the most common plagues of the 21st-century, yet 2000 years
ago Jesus warned of the dangers of anxiety or worry.
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It
has been observed many times over in the developing world that those who have
very little are often the happiest and most joyful people.
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Yet
we in Canada who have so much to be thankful for are often anxious and
worrisome.
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It
appears that the more stuff we have, then the more we have to worry and be
anxious about.
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Followers
of Jesus whose eyes are fixed on the kingdom of heaven never had reason for
worry or anxiety because we are safe in the arms of God.
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Yet
anxiety and worry seemed to have a stranglehold on many of us.
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Life,
Jesus said, is not about food or clothes; rather life is about living in the
rule and power of the kingdom of heaven today.
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As
Jesus said, "Consider the birds: they don't plant, harvest, or gather into
barns, yet God feeds them. Are you not worth more than the birds?"
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Life
isn't about worry, but about trusting God.
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Worry
adds to our stress and ultimately shortens our lives as Jesus implied when he
asked, "who by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
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The
answer, of course, is no one can. Worry and anxiety only steal life; they never
give life.
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The
more stuff we have the more we tend to worry but Jesus challenges us to stop
worrying about clothing.
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Clothing
is a major stressor for many of us, but Jesus said, "Look at the flowers:
they don't spin yarn or weave cloth, but I tell you that not even Solomon in
his kingly clothing was not dressed like them. If God clothes the flowers like
that, how much more will he clothe you even in your limited faith?"
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God,
said Jesus, knows our needs.
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The
unbelieving heart worries about treasures on earth and is anxious about the
necessities of life.
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Trusting
in things or stuff, like the approval of others or security in wealth, causes
blockages in the believing heart.
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The
cure for trusting approval and trusting wealth for security is to check our
motives and set our priorities on the right path.
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As
Jesus said, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all
these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own" (Matthew 6:33-34, NIV).
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Through trusting Jesus, we
find lasting approval and security today in God's kingdom.
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It's
all a matter of trust.
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Will
we keep on looking for approval from everyone or will we look only for God's
approval?
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Will
we keep on trusting our treasures or will we trust the treasures of heaven?
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Will
we keep on worrying about life or will we trust our lives to God putting his
kingdom first?
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Through trusting Jesus, we
find lasting approval and security today in God's kingdom.
