Private Practice

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 6:1

In a culture of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, it’s easy to communicate things. If you are connected to any of these social media outlets, you’ve no doubt seen the obligatory mission trip photos. You know what I’m talking about. Look at me, the middle class white guy in a country with a little dark kid. While I’m sure not all of the people who post these do so in vanity, I’m almost certain there is a level of vanity in some. Only because I’ve seen it in my years of ministry.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Ron Burgundy…. “Hey everyone, come and see how good I look.” Cracks me up every time. But here’s the not so funny side of Western Christianity. Sometimes we do things not to honor God, but to make ourselves appear to be something we are not. We perform to promote our image. You may be unethical in everything else you do, but when it comes time to serve Jesus, not even the apostle Paul has anything on you. In a business meeting you are the pope, behind close doors you are Howard Stern.

Jesus tells us those who serve others to be seen by others aren’t gaining anything but a blind eye from the Father. Sure, everyone around you may think you are great. But God doesn’t see your “selfless sacrifice.”

So, here is what Jesus has for us. When we serve Him, seek to only be seen by Him and for the ones you are serving to see Him through the love you are demonstrating, which He gave you. We are not called to be a people of position, but of posture. Our posture before the Lord will always dictate the positions He can place us in.

I want to encourage you to have a heart that his humble and hungry for the Father’s attention. Serve Him, don’t perform for Him. Posture your heart in a place of serving Him out of love and exalting Jesus. Make much of Jesus!