“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Verse 1
This message gives me a strong impression because this temptation especially attracts me. When I do something Jesus works I am doing it with a pure mind only for God but after that, if somebody praises me for those things that I did then my mind has some feeling good. After that, when I do something I am conscious of others, and if I do like that the good feeling is changed to boasting, and to get that feeling of boast I overaction by instinct. Through continuous work like this, I realized that my soul has been ruined continuously. I got the reward not from God but by myself so there was no feeling good anymore instead guilty mind remained.
So this Jesus’ message is very important to me including all of us not to try to boast about my work. If we do like that things cannot be done correctly and we cannot get support from God because God doesn’t want that kind of attitude when we do God’s work. So we need to try not to be conscious of others when we do something for God and we need to seek the reward only from God not from other people.
If we do like that, we can get the feeling again as we felt the first time. God’s Holy Spirit will be with us and give us God’s rewards which are known only between God and me.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Verse 7
Yes, sometimes I did pray like this before. I did not know God has already known all of my situations even my hair numbers. So I prayed for so long and so many words duplicated. But I don’t need to do that because Jesus said God is already knowing about me much more than me. So I just mention my prayer to God. And especially when I was young some people prayed with some strange speaking I cannot understand. I am now having some doubts that the prayer was real prayer or just babbling.
Those pray of incomprehensible speaking were very popular at that period but nowadays I cannot find those pray around me. I don’t know whether those people have gone or they stopped it or there are no people praying like that around me.
You cannot serve both God and Money.
Verse 24
Yes, actually I cannot serve two Lords at the same time. The aspect of money needs to be careful. Money is just a tool like a farm equipment when we farm it. But we easily fall into the thinking that money is the almighty tool that can do anything in this capitalist world. So many people are relying on money and seeking money and buying money by selling their souls. The devil can control us with money leading us to do some wicked work to sin against God and to betray Jesus as Juda did to get money.
Actually, money is essential and important in our life that is correct but money is not a thing to serve or to worship even in this Capitalism life. We shall not betray God to get money and we shall not sin to get money. If we do like these, betraying or sinning to get money those action means serving money Jesus mentioned. So we need to discern carefully that our unconscious doling is serving money or just use as a tool in this Capitalism life by checking whether we are betraying God or sinning again God’s word.
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Verse 31-33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Jesus said we God’s people don’t need to run after food, cloth, and shelter because our heavenly Father is already knowing that all those things are needed for us. So we need to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. Jesus said if we do these things first then all those food, cloth, and shelter will be given to us as well. Yes, actually I believe in God’s word and will seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness trusting his giving me all those essential things to live and through this experience, I would like to stack belief more in me. All those experiences stacked in me are mine not disappeared like knowledge or skill. So those obeyed experiences based on God’s words are so precious because those experiences are only recognized by me and really are my asset precious things within me not stolen.