“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…But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:1, 3-4
Serving is great. It helps others, it’s commanded by God, and you often feel good from doing it. However, not every act of service is the same nor is it done for similar reasons.
In this passage from Matthew, Jesus is calling out those people who would serve, but do so not to help others or glorify God, but rather to boost their own image. When we serve like that, serving the other person is only incidental; the person we are really trying to serve is ourselves.
Jesus gives an example in verse 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.”
As the pastor of a small, new church, this can be a very real temptation. Due to the constant desire (and perhaps need) to grow, the temptation is to brand everything you do. We need to bring more people into the church, so when we pick up trash on street or collect food for those in need, we need to make sure everyone knows it’s our church that’s doing it.
I’m not saying that there isn’t a time and a place for church events that promote the church, but there are times when we should just serve because it meets people’s needs, shows the love of Jesus to others, and brings God glory. That’s the purpose of serving. As we read in Matthew 5:16 several blog posts ago:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Interestingly, many in the younger generation, today, seem sense this principle instinctively. The thought is that service is good, but it should be authentic. They can smell a self-promotional form of service a mile away and they don’t like it.
Jesus, in Mark 10:45 said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus came and served us even to the point of giving his life. May we also serve others as He did so that they may glorify our Father in heaven.
Jesus,
You, more than any other person, deserved to be served, but instead You chose to serve us. You even gave Your life for us. Help us to love and serve others as You did.
Amen
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
Copyright 2022, Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel. All Rights Reserved.