Daily Devotional for May 19, 2016

Matthew 6:1
“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.

If you have ever contributed to a page like “GoFundMe” or “CaringBridge” - or even purchased something on amazon.com – you’ve probably gotten the little pop-up box afterward that says something like “Tell your friends!”  In these cases, the motive is to hopefully encourage others to follow in your footsteps.  After all, if YOU gave to this charity, others should want to!  If YOU bought printer ink on amazon.com…others should, too!

But there is another component to these messages…particularly the charities.  When you donate and provide your name, this really may encourage others to participate.  But when you tell how MUCH you gave…you’ve “done gone to braggin’!”  If you stop and give $20 to an out-of-work mother standing on the corner by the Walmart parking lot, others do not need to know this.  If you provide school supplies for a child who has none…this is not Facebook news.

If your heart is warmed by the joy you receive when you do for others and serve the LORD, that’s great!  But when you feel compelled to tell others about your good deeds – even in the context of how much God has blessed you – this crosses the line.  We don’t need the praise of other people…the applause of Heaven should be more than enough.

In some translations of Matthew 6:1, Jesus seems to go so far as to say that the “good works” you brag about are totally negated in God’s eyes.  At the very least, “self-promotion” takes the focus off of God and tries to put it on us…and we should know that this is not good Discipleship.  Trust me…the world is watching.  If you are operating in the will of God…and serving according to His plans and directives…others will notice.  More importantly, God will be pleased and glorified.

We shouldn’t ever have to “toot our own horn.”  God’s work in and through us should speak loudly enough.  And if nobody ever publicly acknowledges a single thing we do, it won’t matter one bit.  Our goal should be to hear God say, ”Well done!” when we arrive at Heaven’s gates.  Our “glory” should be HIS glory manifested…His Kingdom furthered…and His purposes completed.  Anything else could very well be our own selfish ego getting in the way.

So do all of the “good works” that God calls you to “perform.”  But check your ego at the door.  Seek only the praise and applause that really matters…His.

©2016 Debbie Robus