Mathew 6: 1 – 6
I saw this movie years ago about a group of young people trying to raise money to save an orphanage by having a concert, and no it wasn’t the Blues Brothers.
They rented this huge arena and got all the acts they could together, and advertized the appearance of the agoraphobic performer for the first time in twenty years to put the money over the top.
Group after group went on stage performing all different styles of music from punk to classic rock, but the recluse didn’t show up. Finally after the show was long over and the kids were cleaning up, the recluse, played by Lou Reed, came onto the stage, and played a song for just one young woman called “I’ll Always Love my Baby Sister. It was the best and most memorable song in a movie that I can’t remember the name of, and nobody heard it but this one person. (And us the movie audience of course.)
God wants to hear and see our most memorable performances done for an audience of one, Him. He tells us that the people who stand on the street corner praying loudly and making a scene, are doing this for themselves only and not for God.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
According to Jesus, it’s what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual. In other words, live for God and not others. How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus.
Hi!
I saw this movie years ago about a group of young people trying to raise money to save an orphanage by having a concert, and no it wasn’t the Blues Brothers.
They rented this huge arena and got all the acts they could together, and advertized the appearance of the agoraphobic performer for the first time in twenty years to put the money over the top.
Group after group went on stage performing all different styles of music from punk to classic rock, but the recluse didn’t show up. Finally after the show was long over and the kids were cleaning up, the recluse, played by Lou Reed, came onto the stage, and played a song for just one young woman called “I’ll Always Love my Baby Sister. It was the best and most memorable song in a movie that I can’t remember the name of, and nobody heard it but this one person. (And us the movie audience of course.)
God wants to hear and see our most memorable performances done for an audience of one, Him. He tells us that the people who stand on the street corner praying loudly and making a scene, are doing this for themselves only and not for God.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
According to Jesus, it’s what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual. In other words, live for God and not others. How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus.
Hi!
I'm back doing these posts on a daily basis. Our attempts to go wireless have gone terribly wrong, and we are taking the router back to the store today. That means that even though I am back to blogging, there will be another gap shortly.
Thank you for your patience.
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