Be Careful!

Matthew 6:1,2 Be careful! When you do something good, don’t do it in front of others so that they will see you. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “When you give to those who are poor, don’t announce that you are giving. Don’t be like the hypocrites. When they are in the synagogues and on the streets, they blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They want everyone to praise them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get.

Self-promotion is an ugly thing. People saying or doing things publicly, overtly, just so that others will think well of them … it just ain’t pretty. Why do they do that?

I saw a selfie that someone had taken of themselves on Instagram recently giving food to a poor person in the developing world. Really? It’s come down to this level of crass self-aggrandisement.

But at the heart of it lies this truth: that we all like to be thought well of. We just do. And so in this insta-world in which we live, each with a mobile phone in our hand ready to spring into action, that is indeed what the world has come to.

And even if it’s not with quite such a prideful motivation, scroll through anyone’s social media posts and you’ll generally only see snapshots of the very best things in their lives.

There’s a fine line between the natural desire to put your best foot forward and crass self-promotion – a line that’s ever so easily crossed over these days. That’s why Jesus cautioned …

Matthew 6:1,2 Be careful! When you do something good, don’t do it in front of others so that they will see you. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “When you give to those who are poor, don’t announce that you are giving. Don’t be like the hypocrites. When they are in the synagogues and on the streets, they blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They want everyone to praise them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.