Stupid Scholar

Image Credit: Big Daddy K

In the midst of His famous Sermon on the Mount, our Lord teaches us how to pray. As sinful, selfish people, we will never fully come to the point of perfect conversation with the King of Heaven. There is always room to grow, change, and add to our prayer lives. In this series, I hope to be of help in that journey. May the Lord be with you always.

Matthew 5:1-4

1 Take heed not to practice your righteousness before people so that it will be seen by them. Otherwise, you receive no wages from your Father, who is in Heaven.

2 Thus, whenever you give alms, don’t blast a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they will be glorified by other people. Amen I tell you, they receive their wages. 3 But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right hand does, 4 so that your alms-giving might be in secret. Then your Father who sees what is in secret will repay you. (My Translation from the Greek)

Two Ways to Give

This part of the sermon comes almost directly before the Prayer itself. It serves as a fitting introduction to praying properly. Here our Lord shows us the attitude we should have when we pray, and, indeed, the attitude we should have throughout our whole lives: love.

Having been in full time ministry for five years and still being in the midst of a theological education, I know first hand the tendency towards pride, arrogance, and vainglory. This is a poignant problem for “religious” people, especially those with some influence (pastors, priests, elders, teachers, leaders, and those considered “godly” or “holy”).

This is because religious people tend to do holy and religious things for pious and righteous reasons – to glorify God, to help others, to repent from sin. This frequently leads to compliments, adulations, and congratulations. The obvious consequence is that this once humble and devout person begins to do things for not-so-pious reasons.

This is not always for praise or compliments. One can do holy deeds because he or she likes the feeling it brings. Perhaps the person enjoys feeling important and needed. Perhaps they feel superior. “No one else does what I do. If I didn’t do this, who would?” The rate that smugness can descend upon a righteous person can often surpass the speed of light. It is truly amazing.

The “hypocrites” that Jesus discusses here are doing some remarkably, good things. They are giving to the poor. These destitute people probable had little to no clothing, no food, and no chance of a different life. They were in the direst of straits, and without the help of others, they had no hope or assurance of a tomorrow. The “hypocrites” were needed, wanted, and certainly appreciated. You would be hard pressed to hear one of the beggars shoo them out of the neighborhood.

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Nevertheless, they were hypocrites. They didn’t care about the poor. They didn’t care that these beggars had no food or clothing. They didn’t care that these impoverished men and women had to suffer hunger pangs, ridicule, and despair. They didn’t even care that God cared. They may have at one point, but they their compassion faded and died awhile ago.

Instead, they cared about themselves. They were good and they wanted people to know they were good. They wanted the praise, good feelings, and sense of accomplishment that accompanies noticed righteousness. They were self-centered show-offs. They desired to be recognized and congratulated – both from other righteous people and from the beggars – for the good deeds.

And Jesus does not deny them their hearts desire. He lets them have their praise. They get what they want…

But that’s all they will ever get. That is their treasure, their prize, their wages; this is what they’ve earned. They will receive nothing from their Heavenly Father. They will not be honored or praised by the Almighty Creator. Instead, they will be rejected, denied, and cast aside by the One who really could see their “righteousness” for what it was… empty, shallow nothingness.

Christ teaches – no, He demands – that our attitude be the opposite. We should care, really care from the gut, about the poor. We must be concerned about their hopelessness, poverty, and suffering. We should sympathize, empathize, and have compassion. And we must help without placing ourselves in a situation to be recognized – even by ourselves!

Image Credit: Nyomee-Wallen

Love and Prayer

But what does all this have to do with prayer???

Well, it is this selfless, self-giving, self-sacrificing love that ought to precede our prayers. It is this true compassion for the needs of others, not the wants of me, that should fill our hearts and minds. If love precedes our prayers, then love will fill our prayers.

Our true feelings for others – selfish pride or selfless compassion, vainglory or glory to God – flood our prayers, whether we like it or not. Our hearts do not change simply because we are now in the quiet of our homes. They remain the same, whether or good or evil. If we are hypocrites in public, we will be hypocrites at home. But if we love in public, then we will love alone. And our God knows, for He sees what is in secret.

Therefore, we must cultivate habits of sacrifice and charity. It must not be our glory and benefit we seek; it must be that of others. These habitual acts will lead to habitual prayers. Rather than being saturated with me, our prayers will become saturated with passionate love for God coupled with compassionate love for others.

We will begin to feel the needs of others and understandingly pray for God’s intervention. We will turn our gaze away from our navel and onto our God. Our prayers will be different because our hearts will be different.

And our God will know, for He sees what is in secret.