Deeds of righteousness done only to draw attention to self or to glorify the doer of the deed will have no heavenly reward. Said another way, if one's motives for doing deeds of righteousness go no further than to gain the approval of others for selfish reasons, that one should expect nothing in return from God.

In a small college town a tavern frequented by students ran an ad in the campus paper during the week before Parents Weekend. The tavern ad read, "Bring Your Parents for Lunch Saturday. We’ll Pretend We Don’t Know You!" The ad was soon challenged by the college chaplain, who posted a revised version on the campus bulletin board. It read: "Bring Your Parents to Chapel Sunday. We’ll Pretend We Know You!"(1)

There is a lot of pretending that goes on in life isn’t there? There is a lot of religious pretending, too.

The story is told of an eastern ascetic holy man who covered himself with ashes as a sign of humility and regularly sat on a prominent street corner of his city. When tourists asked permission to take his picture, the mystic would arrange his ashes to give the best image of destitution and humility.(2)

With today's trend toward big religious productions and professional performances in mega-churches, and the tendency for smaller congregations to feel constrained to try to imitate them, and even just the natural tendency in all of us sometimes to act like something we are not, I think it would be very good for us to review some pertinent teaching from Jesus about ostentation. "Ostentation" is a polite way of saying phoniness or pretension. It is the fine art of hypocrisy - putting on a show - pretending to be something you are not. Please join me in your Bibles in Matthew 6. We'll consider verses 1-18.

These words are recorded in Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus' audience is Jewish. However, his teaching pertains to principles that are relevant among His people in the church.

Jesus begins with a warning in verse 1 and then illustrates and applies the warning verses 2-18.

At first reading, this sounds almost like it might forbid all public display of righteous deeds. In fact, several translations actually put it that way.(3) The Today's English Version says, "…do not perform your religious duties in public…." Yet if that were the case, there would be no place for acts of public worship and devotion at all, which we know could not be the case. Public prayer, for instance, was practiced among the first century Christians, under the direction of Christ's Apostles. Acts 4:24 is one example of it. Public giving for the needs of the saints was practiced. You'll find an example of that in Acts 4:36-5:2. There are several instances of public fasting in the New Testament. An example would be Acts 13:3. Indeed, earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:16, Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

No, this first verse of our text isn't a wholesale ban on public acts of righteousness. The issue is rather one of motives. "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them…." This refers to one whose motive is solely to be honored and appreciated by other people. The focus is on glorification of self. Our previous quoting of Matthew 5:16 brings this out, too. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

There is another indicator of just what Jesus meant in the Greek word translated "noticed" in verse one. The word is theaomai. We get our English word "theater" from it. It suggested a spectacle to be gazed at - putting on of a show.

Deeds of righteousness done only to draw attention to self or to glorify the doer of the deed will have no heavenly reward. Said another way, if one's motives for doing deeds of righteousness go no further than to gain the approval of others for selfish reasons, that one should expect nothing in return from God.

That's the basic principle of this passage. In the verses that follow, Jesus says that the best way to avoid this kind of hypocrisy and self-glorification is what we might call "secret service" - a secret life of doing righteous deeds that doesn't easily draw human attention. The Lord gives us :

He speaks of secret giving, secret praying, and secret fasting. I don't think He intended that these particular acts of righteousness be the only ones done in secret. They are representative of all such righteous deeds we might do that can be done as well in private as they are in public. Let's consider each one...

In September of 1997, Media Mogul Ted Turner announced he was giving a billion dollars to the United Nations. The billion dollars was the amount his Time-Warner stock climbed in the previous 9 months and was said to be about one-third of his net worth. The gift was to be given in equal installments of $100 million each over ten years, contingent upon a continued growth in the company stock. Presumably, either that total amount would be cut down or the ten years extended in light of the recent bad economic climate. All of this is very credible and quite generous. However, it’s also very interesting to consider the fanfare that accompanied the gift. While being very charitable, Mr. Turner still wanted to make sure everybody knew. Before making the gift, he called up Larry King so he could start circulating the news. And then Turner made his announcement in a New York ballroom filled with tuxedos, evening gowns, reporters and cameras.

I don't think Ted Turner is too concerned about messing up his heavenly reward. He's an avowed humanist and atheist. He expects that his reward here is all he will get, and according to Jesus, he's right about that.

For the Christian who puts stock in the words of Jesus Christ, however, such ostentatious giving is the very thing that will remove the potential of a heavenly reward.

A couple of words to consider in these verses. The word "alms" in verse 2 of the NASV has to do with any deed of mercy or pity done for a needy person. It came to mean gifts of money, food, or clothing for the poor. Sometimes today we refer to it as "benevolence." God delights in such acts of kindness.

Proverbs 19:17 says, "He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord."

Proverbs 28:27 says, "He who gives to the poor will never want…."

Giving for the benefit of those in need is a true Christian act of righteousness. But if such giving is motivated solely by the desire to win the attention and respect of others, the heavenly benefit is canceled. Actually, Jesus put it this way: "…they have their reward in full." The word He used for "reward" was a technical term often seen in receipted legal agreements. It meant, "paid in full" and was used in much the same way as we might write the words on a contract that had been fulfilled. It's as though the good deed is done, those who have been called to witness it cheer and glorify the doer, then God issues a receipt that says, "Paid in full. Expect no further payments from heaven."

In Matthew 25:31-46 we have that great picture of the judgment. Jesus is on the white throne and all the nations are gathered before Him. As He separates them like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, the question on the minds of the ones on Jesus right is when it was that they did good deeds for Him. He told them that when they fed, watered, clothed, housed, and visited needy people, they did it for Him. Then He invited them to their heavenly reward. "Inherit the kingdom prepared… from the foundation of the world." Imagine arriving at that judgment with such good deeds accomplished, only to find that they are meaningless and have no heavenly reward! That's the significance of Jesus' warning in these verses of our text to those who use such acts to call attention to themselves.

What do we to assure that we don’t lose our heavenly reward? We engage in secret giving. When we give, we don’t seek to be noticed. We avoid a lot of fanfare. We just do it for God and for the needy person and keep our mouths shut. If it is discovered at all, it is by accident and not because we're sounding a trumpet or, as we might say today, "tooting our own horn."

Is there any secret giving in your life? If not, should there be?

Jesus further suggests that we shouldn't even let our left hand know what our right hand is doing. That would be hard to do literally. It's an idiom and it probably meant something like, "Don't even make it a big deal to yourself." Perhaps the idea is suggested that we might be tempted to become proud and arrogant in our own heart if we spent too much time dwelling on it ourselves.

"But if no one notices," someone might ask, "who will keep track of the good things I do? Won’t they be forgotten?"

Not according to Jesus words. He says in verse 4: "…your Father who sees in secret will repay you." The God who sees every sparrow fall and keeps a running tally on the number of hairs on our heads will notice what you do – even when it is done in secret - and He will keep a record for that day when you will receive your reward.

I'm reminded of Paul's encouragement 1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."

It's really an issue of faith. If we believe God and believe what He says, His promises of reward for our secret deeds will be enough. If our faith is weak, we're likely to try to force our deeds out in the open so that someone will notice.

The principle and elements behind Jesus' example here are nearly identical to His words about giving alms in the verses we just considered. The wrong motivation of being seen by men is there. The idea of calling attention to self in a public display is there. And the idea that such self-glorification carries no heavenly reward is also there. But instead of alms done as a deed of righteousness, this time it’s prayer.

In Jesus' day the common posture of Jewish prayer lent support to the possibility of grandstanding. They prayed with eyes and hands raised upward. With such a custom, it would be easy to be just a little late to the synagogue or the temple and be "forced" by that unfortunate circumstance to take up a position on a street corner or the top of the stairs or in an otherwise prominent spot to commence your praying. If you just "happened" to be where others could see you, well, you couldn't help it if people happened to get a glimpse of you in all your spiritual glory!

I get asked from time to time what I think of raising hands in public worship. As in many such things, those who are "for" it and those who are "against" it are always looking for support to justify their position. To me I don't have an easy answer. There have been times when I was among those who "don't" do it and because of what was going on inside me, I've wanted very much to pick up my arms and lift them as high as I could in order to acknowledge my need for God's mercy and my love for Him. There have also been times when I was among those who "do" and being there in the midst of all those swaying-to-the-music arms in the air, I've felt like I would rather be flat on my face because of my own carnal tendency to call attention to myself.

I won't judge you, whether you raise your hands or not. But I will remind you that there is One who will judge you. And if what He sees is just a sham - a show put on to make you look to others like something you're really not - then enjoy yourself, because you have your reward in full.

I will say that when I see people who cut corners and compromise in their everyday lives all week and then come to church to put on a show of devotion, I feel very uncomfortable.

As an antidote to this kind of aggrandizement, Jesus tells us to go home, shut the door, go to an inner room, and pray to God in secret.

Again, like giving alms without drawing attention to our deeds, it takes faith to pray in secret because if we doubt God, as to whether He really hears or sees or rewards us, or even exists, it will feel like a colossal waste of time. Yet in doing it this way, we’ll be spared the hypocrisy of grandstanding and we will engage the ear of God.

Should we never pray in public then? That’s not what Jesus intended here. Public prayer was a part of the synagogue and it is a part of the church. The issue again is motive.

The story goes that one time when Bill Moyers was a special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, he was asked to pray before a meal in the family quarters of the White House. As Moyers began praying softly, the President interrupted him with "Speak up, Bill! Speak up!" The former minister from east Texas stopped in mid-sentence and without looking up replied steadily, "I wasn't addressing you, Mr. President."(4)

When you pray in public, just pray. Yes, it will help if we can hear you, but talk to God, not us. Speak to Him for the rest of us. Express our love for Him, our need for Him, our desire for His presence. Try to leave self out of it.

The third example Jesus uses is:

"Hey Dave, you're looking a bit puny today. Have you been sick lately?"

"No. Actually I've been fasting for the last 24 hours. I do this pretty often so that I'm sure I really have the ear of God. It's tough, but somebody has to do it."

"Oh my! What a spiritual man our preacher is. He must fast all the time. What a holy man of God he is!"

Thanks for the reward. I really appreciated it. Can you help me arrange my religious "ashes" just a little better so I can make a better impression? In fact, could you maybe tell a few more people about how great I am because according to Jesus here, it's all I'm going to get for all my effort when I call attention to myself.

When you fast, you go without food. Sometimes you go without food and water.

In the Old Testament, people fasted during times of distress, grief, and repentance. The Israelites fasted before going into battle. David fasted at the death of Saul and Jonathan.(5) Esther and the Jews of Susa fasted when faced with the destruction planned by Haman.(6) The Ninevites fasted when they repented at the preaching of Jonah.(7) Nehemiah fasted and prayed when he learned of the sorry condition of Jerusalem, which was in ruins after destruction by the Babylonians.(8) These are a few of the incidences of fasting in the Old Testament.

Fasting is never commanded generally in the New Testament. It was done on select occasions for special purposes. When the church at Antioch sent out Paul and Barnabas as missionaries in Acts 13:3, they fasted. Paul and Barnabas fasted when they appointed elders in Acts 14:23.

How often should Christians fast? Again, there is no specific instruction given in the New Testament. I heard this answer given once and it still makes a lot of sense to me: "When you desire to seek God’s face more than you want dinner, that will be the proper time to fast."

On the reason for fasting, someone has said, "It is helpful to think of the parallel of human friendship. When friends need to be together, they will cancel all other activities in order to make that possible. There’s nothing magical about fasting. It’s just one way of telling God that your priority at that moment is to be alone with him, sorting out whatever is necessary, and you have canceled the meal… you had planned to do in order to fulfill that priority."(9)

Of course Jesus didn’t speak of the reason or even the means of fasting in our text. He was simply pointing out that it should never be an occasion for our calling human attention to ourselves.

Giving, praying, and fasting were never intended by God to be a performance played out before men by pretenders. They are rather private, intimate ways we can serve God and grow closer to him.

There was a preacher who was interviewing with a pulpit search committee. An English teacher headed the committee, and was very concerned that the future preacher spoke properly. "When the hen is on the nest, does she sit or set?" he asked the candidate. The hopeful preacher was frustrated. He didn’t know what to say, and his future was on the line. Finally he replied, "It really doesn’t matter if she’s sitting or setting. What is really important to know is this: When she cackles is she laying or lying?"

Maybe that would be a good place to leave this topic of secret service. Many people in the religious world today cackle a lot. A good question to ask would be, "Are they laying or are they lying?"

Footnotes: Use your "back" button to return to your place

1. Jeffery Anselmi
2. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, © Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002.
3. Today's English Version; New Living Translation; Amplified Bible
4. The Anglican Digest, Early Pentecost A.D. 1989.
5. 2 Samuel 1:12
6. Esther 4:3,16; 9:31
7. Jonah 3:5
8. Nehemiah 1:4
9. Your Father Loves You, by James Packer, (Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986), page for June 14.

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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