“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Jesus again reminds His followers that our motivations are to be radically reoriented in the Kingdom of Heaven. No longer will we strive to appear righteous in our actions and gain the approval of other men and women. Radical Jesus will examine what lies at the heart of your actions, what motivates you to initiate acts of justice such as giving to the poor. If the hand you reach out to another is waving for the attention of others, those that gaze upon Your righteousness will be giving you the reward you desire. The motivation of a transformed heart that moves heaven and earth anonymously to right the injustice of poverty will find its reward in our moment of Glory.
How many times during this Lent walk have we been righteous-exhibitionists? It is a difficult line to discern that divides sharing for accountability and sharing to gain attention. This passage with its suggestion to have one hand give without letting the other hand know what is going must cause us as the church to consider limits in all that we do from advertising who is conducting an outreach to welcoming the congregation to “So and So” church on Sunday; The Radical One drives the outreach and it’s His house we meet in on Sunday.
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 