Why Did We Do That?
If we do something godly for the wrong reason, does it count? Jesus’ answer is clear. In the Almighty’s eyes? No.it doesn’t.
Christ pointed out concrete examples of godly acts done with terrible motives in Matthew 6. He labeled these people hypocrites. The Greek word the Lord used means “actor;” or someone playing a role. These people pretend to be what they are not.
- One type of hypocrite blew trumpets to draw the people’s attention when they gave generous gifts to the poor.
- Others prayed loudly in the synagogues and on the street, so they’d be admired for their deep spirituality.
- The third group wore long faces to draw everyone’s attention to the fact they were fasting.
God calls us to pray, fast and be generous. But their motives smelled bad. The hypocrites didn’t do these things because they loved God or people. Instead they wanted others would admire them for their outward “holiness.”
In all three cases, Jesus the Son of God declared the same damning verdict.
Let’s take a look at those Scripture verses.
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. (Matthew 6:2 NIV)
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. (Matthew 6:5 NIV)
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. (Matthew 6:16 NIV)
The momentary admiration from the crowd is the only reward the hypocrites got. Their motives were bad so their reward was very temporary and earth-bound
So how do we check our inner motives? Well, unfortunately, human beings are remarkably skilled at deceiving themselves, and other people too.
Until Jesus pointed out the trumpets, everyone probably thought the rich man was incredibly generous.
It’s likely he saw himself that way too.
Maybe the rich man took his cue from other wealthy people’s method of doing things.
But only Jesus could bring a Heavenly perspective to an comfortable, earthly habit. The Lord didn’t shame or rebuke the hypocrites either; He just observed their behavior and used it as an illustration to open His disciples’ eyes to how the Trinity viewed things differently.
The One Exception
I believe God honors us when we obey, especially when we don’t want to. Because we may each have a bad attitude, but our inner motive is pure.
Let me explain.
Grumpy, bad-tempered, reluctant obedience is still…obedience. And our God always blesses us when we obey. (M.H. Puccini)
We have many examples of this type of obedience in the Bible.
- Naaman, who’s suffering from leprosy, comes to Israel’s chief prophet, seeking to be healed, then doesn’t like Elijah’s prescription (2 Kings 5:1-19).
- Peter, who agreed to go back out on the lake and cast his fishing nets into the water one more time (Luke 5:1-11).
- Moses at the burning bush, trying to talk God out of using him to free the Jewish people from their 400 year bondage in Egypt (Exodus 4:1-15). In my mind, Moses is the poster child of reluctant obedience.
Bad-tempered obedience is the very opposite of what the hypocrites do.
I don’t obey because it feels good. It doesn’t. The Holy Spirit is urging me to do something personally difficult and my heart doesn’t want to. Instead, my emotions are screaming at me, ordering me to refuse.
My whole soul is in revolt, yet I do what the Lord says anyway.
Why does grumpy, bad-tempered obedience delight God? Because that type of obedience comes from the purest motive of all.
Let me share an illustration from my own life.
Maureen, Go Apologize
As a new believer, I was a proud and insecure person. Proud people don’t apologize. In fact, they never admit they are wrong.
A proud person’s stinking attitude can be wearing on friends, family and random strangers.
So the Holy Spirit, required me to repeatedly to go up to people I hurt and apologize. It was horrible. My early apologies were short and ungracious.
I’d stump up to a fellow believer and say
I’m sorry if I hurt you.
Then I’d storm away abruptly, with my flesh almost visibly twitching in pain. Repeatedly humbling myself in college and afterward wasn’t fun. But the long-term spiritual fruit is so delicious now.
Two things I will tell you. My apologies are now more sincere and loving. After all, I’ve had decades to practice. I still don’t like apologizing. But I love healing wounds and restoring personal relationships.
Secondly, I won’t fall into the trap of thinking I’m now a humble person, because I’m not.
But I am much less proud.
My Spiritual Point
The Holy Spirit will reveal the hidden motives in our heart, when we ask Him to and He alone can change us.
These images came from Pixabay.com.
