Treasures and Worry
“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Matthew 6:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus says be careful not to do your good deeds just so people will notice. If human applause is your goal, that's all the reward you'll get.
It's tempting to make sure people see how generous, spiritual, or devoted you are. Jesus says the audience that matters isn't the one you can see.
Jesus warns about performing faith for an audience.
This is where Jesus starts talking about the inner life: not just what you do, but why you do it.
Jesus transitions from the content of righteousness (chapter 5) to the practice of righteousness (dikaiosynen). The warning against performing religious acts 'before men to be seen' (pros to theathenai, from which we get 'theater') exposes a fundamental motive problem.
The three religious practices Jesus addresses, almsgiving (6:2-4), prayer (6:5-15), and fasting (6:16-18), were the three pillars of Jewish piety. Jesus does not question the practices but the motivation behind them.
Jesus, beginning the section on authentic religious practice.
Having defined kingdom righteousness (chapter 5), Jesus now teaches how to practice it with the right heart, the right audience, and the right motive.
1“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Read all of Matthew 6 — Jesus redefines wealth, prayer, and anxiety in a single breath. The lilies and the birds become his unlikely teachers.
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