Practicing righteousness vs. hypocrisy.
As I began re-reading Matthew 6 this morning in light of Jesus’ teaching on practicing righteousness, the word, hypocrite, jumped off the pages of my Bible (6:2, 5, 16). In essence, Jesus said (paraphrased): When you give money…don’t be a play actor, don’t wear a mask and pretend you’re something you’re not. When you pray…be real, don’t act like you’ve got it all together if you don’t. When you fast…don’t put on a show; don’t fake who you are.
Righteousness is about stripping off anything false, pretentious, and insincere. Righteousness is being vulnerable, authentic, and true. A Righteous Man (or Woman) has a core-character that’s dependable and faithful. If there’s anything at all I’m learning, it’s that a true Jesus-follwer is not hypocritical. Ouch. Maybe I should just stop for today, right now. Nah….
I’m still looking at the passage on prayer in Matthew 6. You can read what I’ve been reading here:
Matthew 6:5-13. It helps me, since I’m prayer-disabled, to look closely at what Jesus is teaching. All he is really directing is for me to come to my heavenly Father as he modeled. Being a teacher, myself, I see a few “s’s” that make it easier to remember. Jesus’ “Six How-To’s for Prayer from Matthew Six:
1) Sincere (real & authentic)
2) Secret (not for show)
3) Simple (doesn’t have to be wordy, or breathy, or flowery, or in the language of the King James Version)
4) Surrendered (when we remind ourselves of who our God is, we start with a surrendered heart – prayer is always more effective when prayed by one who is in a humble and contrite position. This, then, would include a repentant heart).
5) Straight-forward (give him the facts, ask him for the “ask”, and seek his help in living out the journey).
6) So-be-it! (While we know this to be the Amen of prayer, it is really so much more. We tend to think of the amen as the proper way to close a prayer, as if it is our signature at the end of a letter. However, the amen is a statement of fact – a declaration of faith. All prayer includes an element of faith or it isn’t prayer. Look at Matthew 7:7, & 21:21-22, as well as, James 1:6-8).
…and, of course, if we’re going to keep strengthening our prayer-muscles, keep “training for righteousness,” I think Jesus would also teach us to be stubborn.
