Do you know an Eddie Haskell in your life?  Some of you immediately will get the reference.  For others Eddie Haskell was a character on Leave it to Beaver, an old TV show.  He was Wally Cleaver’s best friend and was well mannered and well behaved when there was an audience.  In front of parents he was a model kid.  When he was on his own or just with Wally and Beaver he was prone to mischief and bad decisions.  Jesus addresses this type of behavior in Matthew 6.  Let’s look at it together today. 

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “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. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 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. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Our behavior or good deeds should be a thank you or an overflow of the great love that Jesus has poured out in our lives.  When we act good to be seen or to receive some type of reward we are not truly honoring God with our behavior.  We should live our lives Sola Deo Gloria, for the glory of God alone.  If we find ourselves performing good works for an audience instead of simply to honor and glorify God then we need to check our motives.  The Pharisees were guilty of wanting to be seen being good.  Their hearts were motivated by pride instead of love for God.  This is why Jesus was so hard on them.  I pray that we might all be people who live our lives for from and because of the great love that Jesus pours out on us. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave