Invisible Religion
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.’ (Matthew 6:1)
You may be familiar with the incredible true story of a con man named Frank Abagnale. Between the ages of 15 and 21, Abagnale successfully passed himself off as a commercial airline pilot with Pan Am, a medical doctor, and a lawyer. This is a disturbing true story since, as a pilot, Abagnale was entrusted with hundreds of lives in a plane he didn’t know how to control. And as a medical doctor, he was responsible for care he did not know how to give. Yet he managed to put on such a convincing show in so many different contexts that he went months and years without being discovered. Jesus had a thing or two to say about religious con men. He warned against the hypocrisy of practicing religion for show—of trying to be as visible as possible in acts of righteousness. His warning is relevant today and raises some sobering questions.
In Matthew 6, Jesus warns against visible – ostentatious – hypocritical religion. For instance, the religious hypocrites in Jesus’ day loved to pray in public (v. 5). They stood in the synagogues and on street corners with the motivation that they be seen by others. But followers of Jesus are to take the opposite approach. They are not to seek the applause of those around them but, rather, to pray in secret to the ‘Father who is in secret’ (v. 6). They should also avoid the dangers of wordiness and repetition in prayer. As verse 7 puts it, ‘when you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.’
As a practical remedy, Jesus gives us a model of a completely different kind of prayer (vv. 9-13). The Lord’s Prayer is radically God-centered: it is centered on God’s reputation, His plans, and His purposes. God’s name is to be ‘hallowed’ (v. 9)—for God’s name to be revered and feared. The prayer is for God’s kingdom to come (v. 10)– for His kingship to be recognized in the lives of His people and for His kingdom to come in its fullness when the Lord returns. The prayer is for God’s will to be done (v. 10) – for His purposes to be accomplished. The Lord’s Prayer also models that, when it comes to us, we are simply to express our dependency on God for our needs--for our physical needs like daily bread (v. 11), for forgiveness (v. 12), and for the Lord’s help in the battle with sin and evil (v. 13). The Lord’s Prayer is brief and simple because, of course, ‘your Father knows what your need before you ask him.’ (v. 8)
The key issue here is motivation. What drives your righteous behaviour? Is it to please God, or to impress people? Ask the Lord to show you today how you are most in danger of practicing your righteousness to win the praise of others. Maybe it’s in an area of service like leading a community group or volunteering in a children’s program. Perhaps you’ve been looking over your shoulder, hoping that others notice the skill with which you serve or the number of hours you put in. This week, take practical steps to be as low-profile as possible. Rather than inventing subtle ways to be noticed, consider carefully how to be discreet. Be encouraged that your Father who sees in secret will indeed reward you (v. 6). And where your “acts of righteousness” are necessarily visible, keep a close watch on your motives since the ‘heart is deceitful above all things’ (Jer. 17:9).