This morning I am reflecting on the first few verses from Matthew's sixth chapter. Jesus makes an interesting observation about motivation and how that is received by the Father. Here are the verses - Matthew 6:1-4 NIV:
[1] “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."
[2] “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. [3] But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [4] so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Jesus is commenting on the motivation behind acts of good will and righteousness, and calling out those that are doing these things for the judgment of others, or as He says, "to be seen by them." One would think that God would be happy with any good works we do, regardless of the motivation, but that isn't so. In fact later in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is recorded as again saying something very similar. Here we have His words spoken during the sermon on the mount - Matthew 7:21-23 NIV:
[21] “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' [23] Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
And again concerning the final judgement -
Matthew 25:37-40 NIV:
[37] “Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? [38] When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? [39] When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' [40] “The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"
It is important to note the perspective of the two groups of people in these verses, in the first set, the people were very conscious of what they had done in His name, as in they were keeping a tally, focusing on the acts rather than on the Lord. In the second set of verses, the people, who were called righteous by God, were completely unaware of their righteousness, for they weren't focused on the tasks or others view of them, and they certainly weren't keeping a tally.
Jesus is talking about our heart motivation. The purpose of our following Him, isn't so that others will see our righteousness, it is to please Him! In the same way as I live out my loving relationship with my wife, I am only concerned about her perspective, no one else really matters. I do things that no one else would ever see to please her, to show her that I love her, and it isn't something I need to think about or keep a tally of, I do these out of love and affection.
This motivation of love is what the Lord is after in our lives! He wants us engaged in relationship with Him, living our lives to please him, never worrying about what others might say or think. In this place of intimate love and affection, we are motivated by our Love for God, for His Son and for the Holy Spirit, and our actions are in-line with His will, because we know Him and love Him.
Back to my relationship with my honey, there are many things I do that are solely because of my love for her! I buy certain things for her, not because I enjoy them, but because I know she enjoys them, or needs them. I do chores, not out of obligation, but so that she won't need to do them. It isn't about what I will gain, but about pouring out love in many little ways. I pay attention to her desires and "will" and endeavor to fulfill her desires, all out of love and affection. I don't care if anyone sees what I do, and I certainly don't announce it to my friends, neighbors or even my family. I am concerned about her eyes alone. In fact I find that when I am not even around her, I want to act in such a way that she would be proud of me, and pleased with my actions and speech. I don't ever want to act one way when I am with her, and in another completely different way when I am out and about.
This leads me back to the final verse in my reflection verses this morning, Jesus tells us to be concerned about the eyes of the Father. He should be our focus and the object of our affection! He should be the one whose will and desires we are working to fulfill. Like all relationships, this love and affection for God is a two way street, and that is Jesus' encouragement to us! The Father will see what we do and why we do it and will return our love and affection accordingly. We don't shower Him love and affection to GET things in return, rather we do so because our motivation is love. In the same way, He doesn't reward us to motivate us, but does so because He loves us! We want to be motivated by our love for Him, even when we are out and about, doing things that we know would please Him. We want to be conscious of our love and affection for God all day, every day! In doing so, we will have the opportunity to bless Him in countless ways, through those we meet.
Jesus' whole point is that our attention and focus should be on our relationship with Him and Him alone. We should be so focused on Him that we don't think about what others think or say. We should be motivated out of love, affection and desire to please Him, for His sake and knowledge alone. It is supposed to be like in the movies where two lovers see each other and all the rest of the world becomes out-of-focus, for they only have eyes for one another.
This morning I am greatly encouraged to reflect on my life, on my motivation and actions! I want to be wholly congruent in my love, affection and actions! I want to act exactly the same whether in front of other's eyes, or alone, concerned only about the eyes of my love! I want to dive deeper into relationship with my Lord, so that my motivation is His heart's desire! I am also encouraged that one of His heart's desires is for me to continue to love and serve my honey, pouring my love out daily in countless ways! He loves that I love her, for she is His daughter! I am also encouraged to love and pour out love on all those around me for they are also His sons and daughters!
Amen!
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