Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 6:1 KJV
Outward appearances can give the impression that someone is a good person.
One who is striving to do things the right way.
They donate their time, money, services, or resources to others.
They claim to have moral standards or beliefs.
If we only see them as they truly were.
Many times, what is on the outside does not reflect what is really on the inside.
Appearances can be deceiving.
They only do certain things to get acknowledged as a good and honorable person.
They do it to be seen.
To take all the credit.
In the Bible, Jesus called the religious leaders of His day “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:13-15),
They were called this because they were always trying to take all the credit for what they did.
These religious leaders can be considered actors because they were constantly changing their masks.
Putting on a performance to get the applause of the people, yet hiding what they were on the inside.
That is not what the Lord demands of us and we need to listen.
He has instructed us not to be like the hypocrites, as they only perform their religious duties only to be seen by others (Matthew 6:1-6).
That “when [we] do a charitable deed, do not let [our] left hand know what [our] right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3 NIV).
That we are doing it because we know it is what He longs for us to do.
As Christians, we know there will be times when someone wishes to acknowledge the things we have done.
We appreciated the recognition, but we know that is not why we did or do it.
Remembering that the Lord has told us, “Do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1 NIV).
Letting others know that it is by His grace and mercy that we can do the things we do.
That by faith, we continue to do them.
Giving honor to God for allowing us to do them.
Being thankful for it all.
He could have chosen someone else, but He chose you.
Let us use our lives to bless those around us.
A WORD OF PRAYER
Savior, we know that things can look different from the way they really are. We have been warned about hypocrisy and an outward show in religious duties. What we do must be done according to the Word so we may get the approval of God, not of men. When we take least notice of our good deeds ourselves, God takes most notice of them. Nothing that we do according to the Word is in vain.
In Jesus Name We Pray, Amen