Jesus challenges me at several levels, but perhaps the one I appreciate the most has to do with my motives. Trust is based to a great degree in how we perceive other’s motives. We discern their motives perhaps by their words and actions. We must be humble about this because we can misinterpret the words and actions of others and judge their motives inappropriately. This is where the "Golden Rule" would certainly apply. (Judge the motives of others with the same honor and humility that you want from them as they are judging your motives.)But even with all the difficulty of discerning our motives and the motives of others, Jesus still boldly addresses the issue of motive. He wants us to be diligent in being concerned about why we do what we do.
In Matthew 6:1-4, Jesus delivers some blunt advice about motives in regard to our acts of righteousness, our giving to the needy, and our prayers. Now don’t mistake Jesus’ teaching. He is all for acts of righteousness, giving to the needy and prayer! But he is calling us to consider that when we do these things, there is a right way to do them that reflects a right relationship with God. The way we do our acts of righteousness, giving and prayer can either promote ourselves or invite people closer to God.
But this can be where we get "stuck." Consider...
1. How do I help in certain situations if all my acts of righteousness are supposed to “be in secret?” If someone is broken-down on the side of the road, or is in need of help, how do I reach out to them without them "seeing" my acts of righteousness or giving?
2. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus commands us, "Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." How does that passage fit in with Matthew 6:1-4?
3. How do we combine our efforts in helping our community if we are never to let the "left hand know what the right hand is doing?"
4. How do we ever pray out loud in a small group or worship service, or even pray out loud with someone who is hurting, if we are to only pray in an "inner room" where only our Father in heaven hears us?
Okay...so this means we will have to think a little bit about how to live a life of active compassion!
It seems to me that these statements of Jesus are not opposed to each other. These are not unsolvable riddles. Jesus is speaking to the issue of motive. Jesus himself feeds the five thousand, gives aid to the hurting, prays in the presence of others, and calls us to do all these things as well. But his teachings in Matthew 6:1-4 are about MOTIVES. Jesus is not calling us to never do anything for others in their presence, or with a group who is working together to help others. He is challenging us to do it all in the name of God and for His glory.
Once again, we get unstuck by taking all this to the Father.
- Don McLaughlin
