The Heart of The Matter

Scripture For The Day 

 February 22, 2023

 "The Heart of The Matter" 

We turn to Matthew 6 this morning as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount continues.

Today we study giving.

“Take Heed- (Be Careful!) when you do alms (charity, something good) don’t do it for others to see. If you do that, Jesus says you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Whoa! When you give to the poor don’t announce it for others to hear.  Don’t be a hypocrite, blowing your own trumpet for the people to hear all that you do in the name of The Lord. Don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Hypocrites want to have all the praise and glory. They want to be recognized for all their hard work. They want to be praised for what they are doing. And according to Jesus, that praise from people will be all the reward they will be given. And frankly, that’s not good enough. People are fickle. They will turn on you in a heartbeat. Our giving needs to be done in private. The One that matters sees it all. The Father will see. My own preacherman has put it sort of like this- You hear Nellie is sick down the road. So, you decide to take a bowl of soup to her. Not out of concern for Nellie but for everyone else to know about it and to brag on you for what you are doing. Maybe, you think your soup is better than Gertrude's who took soup the day before and so you want to one-up her. It’s not about the giving to you, it’s all about your own glory. There will be times when others will know about what we are giving and how we are giving, and that's okay. But if you stand up in order for others to be aware of all that you're doing for The Lord, then it’s not for The Lord anymore. And according to Jesus, that behavior will not be rewarded. It never ceases to amaze me, how everything I mean everything goes right back to the heart of the matter. And The Only One that truly sees our hearts is The LORD.  Stay True to Him.  Why are you doing what you are doing??? 

Father God, examine our hearts this morning and reveal to us what needs to change. Amen! 



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