Matthew 6 continues Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount” where He gives instructions on what the life of discipleship under Him ought to look like. Although there are quite a few themes that are brought up, the chapter begins with a stark warning. “Beware!” Jesus says. This word means, “to be in a state of alert, be concerned about, care for, take care”[1] Jesus says, Take care! There’s danger ahead! The bridge is out! Pay attention! Hello! Wake up!
What is the danger ahead? What is the concern that we, as disciples, have to be incredibly watchful for? Practicing our righteousness for the purpose of being seen by others (6:1). For if your aim is to be honored by men, that’s all the reward you’ll ever get, Jesus says. In the last chapter, Jesus stated plainly that His disciples’ righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20). We see throughout the Gospels a picture of these guys who are incredibly righteous and keep the law meticulously, but their motives are all wrong. Their heart isn’t in it. It’s not genuine. It’s self-righteousness.
Contrasting this, the Christ-follower is to live differently. They are to have the righteousness of Christ, not self-righteousness, and having an obedience that springs from the heart.
Jesus gives some examples. Giving to the needy? It’s a good thing. But if you sound a trumpet before you so that you might be praised by others, the praise of others will be your sole reward (6:2-4). You’ll get nothing from God! So, the disciple’s aim ought to be to give so secretively that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing (6:3).
Praying? It’s a very good thing. But if prayer is used as a means of looking good before others and you pray long and elaborate prayers so that people highly esteem you, you’ll receive no reward but the small esteem of men (6:5-13). Prayer must not be abused as a means of looking good before others. In fact, to guard against this, it should be done behind closed doors! Likewise, when done in public, it shouldn’t be to show off the one praying. For God already knows our needs before we ask, so we don’t have to heap paragraph upon paragraph in order to be praised by others. Watch out! Beware! There’s danger ahead.
Fasting? It’s also a good thing. But if you’re going to look gloomy and showcase that you are fasting to everyone around you, the esteem of others will be your only reward, and you’ll get nothing from God (6:16-18). All in all, the Lord Jesus cares about our motives. The problem isn’t that other people see these things. As a pastor, a lot of what I do is public, so I would hope not! The problem comes down to the motive of the heart, and in an effort to guard against false motives, many righteous things are best done privately. In the rest of the chapter, He talks about the treasure of one’s heart and the importance of trusting God for daily sustenance, but the first portion of this chapter begins with warnings.
Beware of the heart that desires to be seen by others. If you’re doing things for men, then you aren’t doing them for God. Just as one can’t serve two masters in the sense of God and money (6:24) so one can’t also desire to please both God and man with their religious actions. There will be one Lord of the heart. Our righteous deeds as followers of Christ: our serving, our singing, our praying, our giving, our studying of Scripture and anything else we do, if it’s done for an earthly audience, then there will be no reward in heaven for it. The small, little, teensy esteem we might get from someone in the church who sees what we do, that’s the reward. Truly, it pales in comparison to being rewarded by the King! Especially as a pastor, I have to watch this with my preaching and every other aspect of my ministry. Not one of us is exempt. All of us must beware. We must be watchful. We must guard our hearts. There’s danger ahead: seeking to be noticed by people instead of by God will ruin our supposed “righteousness.”
[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 879.
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