Matthew 6 - Practising Righteousness Sample

Matthew 6

Giving, Prayer, Fasting, Money, and Anxiety

First, may I encourage you to look at the series of reflections I wrote (for You Version) on Matthew 5, to give context to Matthew 6. Jesus’ insistence that he did not come to abolish, but fulfil the law, is vital to understand the collected sayings of Matthew 5 through 7. That the law was interpreted through love—self-giving love—was a revolution that disturbed the religious authorities and amazed the common man and woman. Jesus lifted the burden of the law off the sagging shoulders of God’s people by interpreting it through love and exemplifying it in his teaching and in his death for their sin. A revolution begins.

Practicing Righteousness

Practicing righteousness is important. It fulfils the law of God and benefits others. It is something normally done with others looking on, or at least being aware of, but we‘d better be sure it isn’t done because others are looking on. That is Jesus’ point. If that is the case, we can expect to receive, “no reward from our Father who is in heaven.” The only reward we receive is that others see what we do, but that is hardly a satisfying result unless man-pleasing is our raison d’etre. God’s reward is an entirely different proposition, and the inference is that God’s reward will be seen by others—done in secret, rewarded in public.

Reward is not something to be dismissed, as if it were only a non-Christian transactional means of living. It matters that we are rewarded for actions, and we will be—be they good or bad. We are wired for reward. We get up in the morning heading towards some sort of reward—be it in serving, relationships, finances, workplace advancement, increased productivity, etc. It motivates and fulfils us and potentially makes for a better world.

You get to choose who will reward you—the populace or the President (the Father)—by your attitudinal poise and your actions. Doing good for God’s sake brings reward.