Matthew 6 -- Getting The Public And Private On The Same Page?

In starting this chapter, my commentary particularly emphasized that hypocrisy is the sin of deliberately using religion to cover up our sins and promoting our own gains.  We have to watch carefully and insure that doesn’t happen as we give, as we pray, and as we fast, Jesus told us.

 

We don’t want it to be about us and how much or how often we do these things.  Instead, we should direct all of our energies to God and what He wants.  If we keep self out of the mix, God will be honored, which should be our proper response.

 

I noticed two restrictions on our prayers in my commentary:

 

First, “we have no right to ask God for anything that will dishonor His name, delay His kingdom, or disturb His will on earth.”

Second, “we have no right to ask for ourselves anything that would harm another member of the Family.  If we are praying in the will of God the answer will be a blessing to all of God’s people in one way or another.”

 

Jesus wanted us to have forgiven people before we pray.  We aren’t earning the right to pray.  It’s a matter of fellowship.  “If God answered the prayers of a believer who had an unforgiving spirit, He would dishonor His own name … The important thing about prayer is not simply getting an answer, but being the kind of person whom God can trust with an answer.”

 

One other thought seemed to wrap this portion up:

 

“The first step toward overcoming hypocrisy is to be honest with God in our secret life.  We must never pray anything that we do not mean from the heart … Our motive must be to please God alone, no matter what man may say or do.  We must cultivate the heart in the secret place.  The most important part of a Christian’s life is the part that only God sees.  When reputation becomes more important that character, we have become hypocrites.”

 

On the part about worrying, I read, “The average person is crucifying himself between two thieves:  the regrets of yesterday, and the worries about tomorrow…. Hypocrisy and anxiety are sins.”

 

Father, I’ve found a lot of good stuff this morning.  Thank You for pointing it all out.  Steer me away from hypocrisy and anxiety.  By doing so, You’ll automatically be moving me closer to You, where there is peace.  And that is what You know that I truly need right now.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford