Matthew 6:1-6: The Secret is Secrecy
In an earlier post that can be found here, I referenced an apocryphal tale in which Jesus teaches his disciples a very valuable lesson regarding the motivation behind their deeds. One of the chief criticisms of religion which comes from the O.T. Prophets and the likes of Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, and several other critics, is that people use religion as a means to some other personal (often oppressive) end. This can be seen in the practices used to crush the poor, while empowering the rich. It can also be seen in the individual who does good deeds, in order to receive a prize for themselves (see the older brother in Luke 15). If we are not careful, our religious deeds (giving, praying, fasting, serving, etc), rather than leading us further up and into the heart of God, might just drag us further out and away from his presence.Henri Nouwen once said, "Nothing conflicts with the love of Christ like service to Christ." In this quote he points to the danger that can befall a person whose good deeds are done from a heart that is not in the right place. This is a danger for each and everyone of us, and I think, if we all search our hearts and lives, we can all locate occasions where we served the Lord out of impure motives. We preached a sermon in a particular way so that people would like us, or you served only because you wanted the recognition, or perhaps you gave, but only when they offered to name the room after your family. Yes, we all at times are like the hypocrites referred to in Matthew 6:1-6. We do our pious acts, "in order to be seen by [people]."Jesus says that when we behave in this way, we get the thing that we were seeking. That is, the people we were performing for look at us and say, "Meshach sure is generous. He sure does pray and read his bible a lot. He sure does have a heart for the poor." That's it. That's the reward we wanted, and it's the only reward we will receive. But far from being a reward, actions such as these have a devastating effect on us. For all deeds flow from a persons heart, and when we are doing things in order that others might notice (reputation management), what we are revealing is that we have a heart that is motivated, not by love or compassion, but by impressing others. Therefore, on the outside we will appear to be just, holy, generous, and benevolent, but on the inside we will self-serving, manipulative, and shriveling. We will be like the scribes and Pharisees of whom Jesus says, "you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." What good is a cup that is only clean on the outside? It is only useful for one thing, observation. But in all other manners it is utterly useless, and actually harmful.So what is the corrective? How do we ensure that our actions are flowing from a proper source, and helping us become what we are portraying? Well, to finish off Jesus' statement about the cup, we "clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean" (Matthew 23:26). That is, we shift our focus away from the external action, and towards the place from where those actions originate–the heart. Because when you clean the inside of a dirty cup, the natural result is that the outside of the cup will become clean. For the water on the inside will spill over to the outside. And in regards to our pious deeds, the way Jesus recommends that we approach "cleaning" them is by doing them in secret.
When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.