There’s a kind of worship that Jesus despises. He despises it because it has nothing to do with worship of God and everything to do with the worship of self.
In Matthew 6:2, 5 & 16 Jesus warns us against this kind of worship –
2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full… 5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full… 16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
Giving, praying and fasting are all good, religious practices. They are things that we should all be doing. The problem is when we do these, or any other forms of worship, so that we will receive the praise of other people.
Doing these good things are not, in and of themselves, wrong. It’s not even wrong to be seen doing them. After all, Jesus also said in Matthew 5:16,
16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
But do you see the fundamental difference? It all comes down to your motive. One person does what they do to gain the praise and admiration of other people. Another does what they do so that God gets the glory. The deeds may look identical, indeed, often times the deeds are identical, but the heart motivation cannot be seen.
What are we to do? I love the quote from the Scottish theologian A.B. Bruce, in which he says, “We are to show when tempted to hide and hide when tempted to show.”
This can be challenging to always pull off, but it’s certainly worth the effort. Do your best to always remember that people are never to be the audience of our worship. God is supposed to be our audience. Who is your audience? Who do you want to be rewarded by, God or man?
Much Love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
