MUCH of what I write comes as a result of ideas that I believe
the Holy Spirit gives me. Oftentimes God
convicts with the word, “that” i.e. write on that.
This is a that…
Something that must irk God about Christians that write and
preach and communicate (especially on social media) — and I include myself in
this — is at times the motive for communicating, and the words written and said,
does little to actually bring glory to Him.
It might sound good, but the motive,
one’s heart, can be a degree or two off.
Too often we fall into the sin of wanting to be seen as inspiring,
intellectual, knowledgeable, wise, just, godly, humble, compassionate, or
inspired. We are men and women after all
— sinners, prone to sinning — and we, as Christian leaders and leaders in His church, are no exception. It’s not our
church; it’s His.
Having contemplated this passage, I want to suggest the
following commentarial paraphrase of Matthew 6:1-8…
Be wise to the
sneaky temptations home to your sinful nature when God blesses you with
opportunities to give to the needy, or serve the vulnerable. Be really honest! You are no better than the needy person, nor
are you stronger than someone who’s vulnerable.
Remember, life can deal you a raw hand at any time. Instead, do whatever God blesses you to do,
simply, without performing for an audience, and without feeling ‘good’ about what
you’ve done. Simply thank God you had
the opportunity to begin with. And thank
God you withstood the temptation to sin; that you endured the test. You pass the test when you do your giving and
serving with cryptic intent. If nobody
ever finds out about the good deed you did, all the better. Then your Father in heaven is glorified,
because, in the process, people are drawn to faith in Christ.
Likewise, with
prayer, avoid saying you’ll pray and then fail to intercede in the way you should,
having committed verbally. It’s better
to pray and keep it between you and God.
Keep your prayer life as private as possible, but do genuinely encourage
people when God speaks to you about people who are a blessing. God’s not impressed when you corrupt the holy
practice of prayer by adding vocabulary to your Christianese and giving publicity
to your prayer closet. He made you and
He knows what you need. Don’t use your
faith in Christ to create political influence, even if it’s with your friends;
everyone should know that’s a common way of falling short. That’s not the right motive to build His
Kingdom or give Him glory. And it’ll get
you to a worse place than nowhere.
Instead, simply pray, and better, without putting it on, but full of
heart and thought that honours God.
As I’ve said above, I hear God
speaking these words to me; to make ministry and prayer about Him and others,
and not about myself. I hope you can
find this of personal benefit, too.
© 2016 Steve Wickham.
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