Day 6, Matthew 6 
Everyone knew who Jesus was referring to when He
spoke of those who blew trumpets in the marketplaces
prior to their distributions to the poor, who prayed
on street corners, and who advertised their fastings---it
was the scribes and Pharisees. Remember,
Jesus requires that our righteousness surpass theirs
(5:20). His true followers are motivated by love
for God and love for others. They are conscious that,
even when people aren't watching, God is, and they're
striving for His praise rather than the praise of
men.
Tragically, many professing Christians give nothing
to the poor, much less give secretly to them. Does
their righteousness surpass that of the scribes and
Pharisees, who did give to the poor,
albeit for the wrong motives?
It is a good exercise to compare our regular prayers
with the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray.
Notice that the first requests are for our Father's
name to be hallowed, for His kingdom to come, and
for His will to be done. How can anyone but a true
and devoted disciple of Christ make such requests
without being hypocritical? Yet millions of false
believers whose lives dishonor God's name and don't
reflect kingdom priorities regularly pray the "Lord's
prayer."
In this "disciple's prayer," our material
needs are minimized to daily bread, reflecting
submissive trust and a contentment that stands in
contrast to the world's greed. This prayer also elaborates
on the fourth beatitude, our "hunger and thirst
for righteousness," as we request forgiveness
for our sins (we haven't reached perfection yet)
and ask that God will not lead us where we will be
tempted lest we fail, but rather will deliver us
from evil. All of these requests make perfect
sense, because God's kingdom, power and glory are
eternal (6:13). We want to please Him!
Everyone in Jesus' audience also knew what He meant
when He spoke of the "evil eye." It was
a common expression for a "greedy heart." Proverbs 28:22
says, "A man with an evil eye hastens after
wealth," and Jesus also used the same expression
in Matthew 20:15. Those with greedy hearts are "full
of darkness" (6:23), that is, void of truth.
A "clear eye" (or "good eye" in
6:22) is the opposite of the "evil eye," and
thus represents a heart that is not greedy, and one
that is "full of light" (6:22), that is,
filled with the truth.
What characterizes a greedy person? He lays up his
treasures on earth, where his heart is also. Money
is his master because he loves and serves it, and
he actually hates God. He is full of darkness. This
is obviously not the description of a heaven-bound follower
of Jesus, but of an unsaved person. True followers
of Christ, those who are focused on God's coming
kingdom, are laying up their treasure in heaven where
their hearts are, keeping their earthly pile as small
as possible. They are full of the light of the truth.
They aren't tithing as a means to grow rich on earth,
something commonly taught in apostate churches today.
But notice Jesus' warning about the great darkness
of those whose light is really darkness (6:23). He
can only be speaking of those who think they
are full of light, while their actions reveal that
they are actually full of darkness. No doubt Jesus
once again had the scribes and Pharisees in mind,
men who were "lovers of money" (Luke 16:14),
and whose earthly treasure piles testified of their
great darkness and hatred of God. Yet had you asked
any of them, they would have testified that they
loved God! Thinking they were full of truth, they
were actually full of darkness, which was their doom. "Prosperity
preachers" take note! You are no different!
Finally, note that Jesus told His followers not
to worry specifically about food, drink or clothing
(6:25-34) something that most of us are never tempted
to worry about because we are so wealthy (by the
world's standards). Our material worries usually
revolve around the fear of becoming less wealthy.
May God help us to see our great wealth, as well
as our great responsibility before Him because of
it.
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