“These religious types were the fans that Jesus seems to
have the most trouble with. Fans who will walk into a restaurant and bow their
heads to pray before a meal just in case someone is watching* Fans who won’t go
to R-rated movies at the theater, but have a number of them saved on their DVR
at home. Fans who may feed the hungry and help the needy, and then they make
sure they work it into every conversation for the next two weeks**. Fans who
make sure people see them put in their offering at church***, but they haven’t
considered reaching out to their neighbor who lost a job and can’t pay the
bills. Fans who like seeing other people fail because in their minds it makes
them look better. Fans whose primary concern in raising their children is what
other people think. Fans who are reading this and assuming I’m describing
someone else. Fans who have worn the mask for so long they have fooled even
themselves.” ― Kyle Idleman
“The sinners to whom Jesus directed His messianic
ministry were not those who skipped morning devotions or Sunday church. His
ministry was to those whom society considered real sinners. They had done
nothing to merit salvation. Yet they opened themselves to the gift that was
offered them. On the other hand, the self-righteous placed their trust in the
works of the Law and closed their hearts to the message of grace.” ― Brennan
Manning,
Fans are self-righteous. Maybe they do the right things
but their hearts are not in the right place, nor are they right before God.
It’s easy to fall into talking the talk for the wrong reasons. The
self-righteous can easily become hypocrites-while they weren’t necessarily
prostitutes, (like those they condemned) they had lustful hearts. While they
did not murder, they had hatred in their hearts. (Matthew 5-The Beatitudes)
The Kyle Idleman quote talks about the people that Jesus
describes in Matthew. Matthew 6:1 says “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of
righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no
reward from your Father in Heaven.”
*Matthew 6:5-6 “And when you pray, do not be like the
hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in synagogues and on the street
corners to be seen by men. I tell you
the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into
your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
**Matthew 6:1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of
righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no
reward from your Father in heaven.”
***Matthew 6:2-4 “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. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Jesus wants us to do things in secret so that we would
not be praised by people. If we give in secret, our motives are in the right
place. But if we feel people need to know, our motives are wrong.
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