How Hypocrites Act

"I say to you, they have their reward."

Matthew 6:2b

How beautiful is the Sermon on the Mount! A text that, if lived to the full, would give us a different world. Among the many lessons of life, Jesus warns his listeners at that time (and readers of all times) against acting solely so that others may see and know. Unfortunately, this is something that also happens in our daily lives. Jesus is categorical in declaring that you do not need people to see or know every part of your life of faith, if what you do is directed to God, He is the one who sees in secret: “Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you publicly” (Matthew 6:6). In fact, three times the expression “do it in secret” echoes in different terms:

1. when you help and support financially;

2. when you turn to God in prayer;

3. when you try to humble yourself through fasting.

For almsgiving, he recommends “not sounding a trumpet”; for prayer, he suggests not standing on street corners; and for fasting, he suggests not disfiguring your face. How much we have to reflect on this tendency that renders everything vain, leaving us with a reward made up of (hopefully) human appreciation.

Unconsciously, each of us tends to seek human admiration and is satisfied by the approval of others. However, when we seek the approval of passersby and lose sight of the appropriate motivations that should move our hands and hearts, there is a distortion at work. If we give alms, it is because we care about helping those in need; we feel the urge to share what we have. If we pray to God, it is because we feel the need to talk to Him, to seek His intervention and His voice for our lives. If we fast, it is because we intend to discipline our bodies, curb our passions, and humble the flesh. At least that is how it should be. Jesus' words are clear: “his reward will be public” when we act in secret. The effect will be seen and nothing else. As happened in the house of Obed-Edom when he hosted the ark of the Lord (2 Samuel 6:10-11), others will not be able to fail to recognize His favor toward us.  However, I don't think it takes much imagination to associate doing this in public with posting on social media, the uncontrollable mania of taking photos of ourselves and posting every little action on the vast square that is the Internet. It may be true that language and communication have changed, but the fact remains that if we seek “likes,” we have lost sight of true spirituality.

I dare say that in this case, in the name of God, we are feeding our ego. To be seen by God, on the other hand, we must hide ourselves, because He sees in secret. What everyone else sees does not interest Him. Indeed, the Lord has warned us to keep in mind that if we seek human approval, that will be our only reward. We will reap words and comments of praise, a few claps, and nothing else. Most of the time, these are formal and insincere reactions that bring nothing to our soul. We should learn to give greater importance to our hidden chamber, that deep ocean where we keep our secrets, well protected from any kind of intrusion. There we can store the sweet pleasure of the emotion we felt when the eyes of those we reached smiled or cried. This also means protecting and safeguarding those who receive, and not making them the object of our benevolence. Let us return to cultivating our secret corners, with great care, where, when necessary, we can dust off a few memories from which to draw what we need to calm a moment of anger or rage. We cannot deny it, if we want to, we are capable of keeping everyone away and jealously guarding our good deeds, aware that God knows everything and does not need keys to enter. I do not intend to force anyone's lock, but to encourage you to reflect on why those actions that deserve to be locked away are instead trumpeted to the four winds.

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Weekly Bible Reading Plan #09

February 23, Numbers 5-6; Mark 4:1-20

February 24, Numbers 7-8; Mark 4:21-41

February 25, Numbers 9-11; Mark 5:1-20

February 26, Numbers 12-14; Mark 5:21-43

February 27, Numbers 15-16; Mark 6:1-29

February 28, Numbers 17-19; Mark 6:30-56

March 1, Numbers 20-22; Mark 7:1-13