Secrecy
Hey folks...
I hope everyone had a great time last night.
Any more thoughts on this passage as your week goes by?
"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 "So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Oh, and as a reminder, our "challenge" for the week is to serve someone around us, but in secret...so no telling friends/neighbors/spouses/fiancees/parents/whoever about it...just do it.
Have a fantastic week, and I'm really looking forward to NOT hearing about how we're touching other people's lives.
posted by John @ 6:24 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
One of the coolest aspects to the way that Jesus teaches is the way he uses polar opposites and exaggerations - the whole notion of not letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, for example.
Which leads me to wonder...especially with what Steve and John were saying about doing things in a hidden/ninja way... Maybe the point is not in whether people see you or don't see you, but on the motivation that one has for doing something?
Hey we talked about us actually going out and doing something as a group next week to put into practice what yal discussed on friday.... did yall discuss that...and just decide to do it on our own? Or do we ned to still come up with what we will be doing next week? Just wondering...oph and John to your comment....
So our motivation is to not know why we do what we are doing good for others/God? Or is it to give credit where credit is do...and credit should be given to God?
Well...it seems to me that Jesus uses the idea of "rewards" very intentionally, because he's arguing that one does things not for human recognition, but to be recognized by God, as it were. So I'm not sure that his passage has in mind motivation as in our knowledge of what we do or don't do, but maybe motivation along the lines of seeking fame and fortune versus doing the will of God.
Yeah I hear what your saying...but then is it wrong to desire to be famous in the eyes of God?
(i.e. the disciples asking Jesue who will be the greatest in the Kingdom?)
Interesting question...
I wonder if the text's problem with the disciples' request for godly fame has to do with the disciples' expectations of what the Messiah would be like...
An interesting aspect of Calvinism that relates to this is their view of Christian hedonism - one does things, of course, because God has willed it, but also because it brings glory to God, and the glorification of God is the primary delight of humanity. So, in a sense, one does the will of God to feel good...
To respond to DG's question; it seems to be wrong to desire to be famous in god's eyes period. One's status in God's eyes is not the end, but a happy product of living the Christian life. Since he's omniscient, he'll know when you're blowing smoke, and doing something motivated by prospect of reward.
Christian hedonism is a tricky subject. To glorify God is the primary delight of humanity, but glorifying him to be delighted is not the same as to glorify him because you love him without condition or expectation. That said, if one would prefer to get Platonic all up in here, to do good is better than not to do good; so charity with expectation is better than no charity at all. But this is not Christianity. To be vulgar, any jackass can do a good deed, it takes a special person to do one automatically, or at least with no thought about how the doer shall be affected by the doing.
Just a thought, probably poo. :)
JB
If that is poo...then is sure smells good, heh!
Isn't it interesting, though, that Jesus how often Jesus uses the theme of "reward" to get people to do the right thing? Sure, there's a higher nobility in doing something simply because it is the right thing to do... But Jesus is being not-too-vague that doing the right thing has good consequences...
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