Doin’ the Religious Thing
Maybe it may not be as popular as it used to be, but lots of us are religious. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s okay to be religious—going to church, listening to religious music, talking about God—all of that is fine. Some people may not like it, but its all right. The real problem is to know HOW to be religious. Everyone is telling us to be religious in this way or that way, and we want to impress people, but we are also wondering what God really wants. Well, Jesus tells us just what God wants from religious folks:
Don’t do your religious deeds openly so that you would gain something from others, or else you will not gain any blessing from your Father in heaven.
When you give to the poor, don’t let it be known with a megaphone, as some pretenders do in churches and benevolence centers so that people would say how great they are. Listen here, they’ve already got their pay. As for you, keep your giving even a secret from yourself—God sees every hidden thing and will pay you back according to what he sees.
When you pray, don’t be like the pretenders who make a show of praying in the churches and on street corners so people would notice their prayers. Listen to me, they have already got everything they asked for. But as for you, pray in the room with no windows, shut the door and pray to your Father, whom no one sees. But God, he will see you in hiding and give to you accordingly.
When you fast before God, don’t be a sad sack like the pretenders—they put on an unhappy face so people would notice their fasting. Listen to me, they’ve already got everything they’re fasting for. As for you, act in your fast as you normally would—put on normal clothes and do your normal hygiene. No one will notice your fast except your Father in heaven, who is unseen. God will see your hidden act and give to you accordingly. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
What are Religious Deeds?
Jesus is taking up the subject of “religious deeds” in this section. But what are they? They are anything we do that is religiously “cool”. Jesus specifically talks about giving to the poor, praying aloud and fasting. These are three religious deeds that were very popular in Jesus’ day—and they were all commanded by God. Today, we have many other kinds of churchy, God-liking things we enjoy—
· Taking communion
· Giving to the church
· Prayer
· Worship/praise
· Church service/volunteering
· Helping the needy
· Listening to Christian music (loudly)
These are all great things to do. But there is a right way to do them and a wrong way.
Who are the deeds for?
The real question Jesus deals with is who are we doing these things for? We could just be doing them because we enjoy them personally. But the issue Jesus is most concerned about is whether we are just doing these religious deeds because we want to impress people around us with how “religious” we are. Have you ever prayed out loud and thought to yourself how impressive your prayer must be to others around you? Have you ever sung loud in the service so others could hear how well you knew the song? Have you ever helped a person in need so someone else could see how good you were? These are all symptoms of “religionitis”—impressing others with how religious you are.
If we are impressing others with our religious deeds, then Jesus says that we have already received all that we get. In other words, any religious deed we do with the intent of impressing someone else—whether we are successful or not—all we get is the attempt at impressing others, but we get nothing from God. We can do what we do for others, but the one person who isn’t impressed is God.
Acting toward God
God is only interested in actions that are directed toward Him alone. If we pray, we should be praying for Him, not for our parents, not for those looking on, not for the person who asks “did you pray for me?” When we pray, the only one who counts is God. If we pray for anyone else other than God, then we might as well be praying to them. God won’t answer our prayers. He will only answer if we are praying to Him, for His sake alone.
This goes the same for all the other actions. If we are trying to impress others with how we praise God, God won’t receive the praise. If we are trying to show the government how much we gave to the poor to get something out of it, then we will not have given for God’s sake, but the governments. If we volunteer at church to get to know a cutie who also works at the church, we will get no credit for it from God.
Don’t limit your deeds
Of course, it doesn’t matter if we happen to impress others. Only if that is what we are trying to do. But, just to make sure, Jesus says, we need to practice some of our religious deeds in secret. This does not mean that everything we do for God must be hidden from every eye. First of all, it is impossible to do that. If the only religious deeds we could do are in secret, then it would severely limit what we could do. Jesus doesn’t want to limit what we do, but to focus our actions to where they do the most good. Second, Jesus himself told us to do some of these deeds with other people. Jesus told us to pray the Lord’s prayer together, in a group. Jesus himself did religious deeds in public, including prayer. So secrecy isn’t the issue all the time.
God is hidden
But secrecy is not a bad idea for much of your religious practice. Jesus said that God himself is hidden from view, so it is appropriate to do some of what we do for God hidden from view as well. When Jesus prayed at times he got up before anyone else did so he could pray by himself. Sometimes he sent the crowds away so he could pray or heal in private. Sometimes he preached to people privately instead of in front of huge crowds. Jesus wasn’t just about the crowds. Nor was he trying to impress anyone. He was just trying to do what God told him to do.
This should be the same with us. Our religious life should not be about trying to impress others. Why should we care what other’s think about us? It is only God who counts. In the end, we want God to be praised, not ourselves. It is God we want to serve, not ourselves. It is God we want to pray to, not others. It is God we do all our religious acts for. If that is the case, then let us make sure that we do it secretly—at least on occasion, when we can. In this way, God will hear us and he will reward us.
Why reward?
Some would say, “Why should we be doing religious deed for a reward? Isn’t it more pure to do it just out of loving God?” It’s fine if you want to serve God just because you love him. That’s great. But don’t think you are some kind of “super-Christian” because of it. Jesus recognizes that we want blessings from God. If we didn’t want the blessings of the Spirit, of joy, of peace, of forgiveness, of living with God for all eternity, then why would we bother with God at all? No, let’s be honest. We serve God because God will make our lives better. Jesus recognized that and approved of it. So let’s not be guilty because we want a blessing from God. God loves to give us His gifts, so let’s enjoy them.
Do everything for God’s glory
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