¹Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

²Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Veirly I say unto you, They have their reward.

³But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

⁴That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

⁵And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

⁶But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

⁷But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

⁸Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Matthew 6: 1-4 is telling us that when we do a good deed for someone, we should not have to sound an alarm of what we have done for them. He is saying that we should always use discretion, it is between us, and the individual we were enabled to help and God!

We need to examine why we are doing what we are doing in the first place. Are we doing it because it is the right thing to do, and pleasing to God, or because we are seeking to be recognized by man? This is a spirit of self-exaltation. This is why he says: those that are seeking glory of men, have their reward, but those that do it from a good heart, and seeks nothing in return, those, God will reward openly.

Matthew
6: 5-8 says that when we pray we should make sure it is not because we desire to be heard or seen, he calls these people hypocrites. A hypocrite is a person who pretends to have virtue, pretending to be holy. This is a person that loves to be recognized or even glorified! “Look at me and how good I can pray, or how long I can pray.” He says he already knows what things ye have need of before we ask. The prayers that are in secret; meaning when it is just you and God, and no one else around to be a witness, is the prayers that he will reward thee openly.

We have to remember that our Lord is all knowing…He knows our inner most thoughts. There is absolutely nothing that we can hide from Him. He knows if a prayer is sincere and he knows if we are truly being charitable. He knows us better than we know ourselves! Let us be certain that we are doing what we are doing in good conscience so that it is Christ that is exalted and not man. Again he says, that which we do in secret, we shall be rewarded openly. So let us always examine ourselves and our motives for what we are doing; that vain glory has no place in our hearts. Amen.