April 22: Insight Post by Rusty Coram
Wednesday Insight Post
by Rusty Coram
There is something really encouraging about the passage from Matthew in our reading this week. It can also be frustrating. Here it is:
“16And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Matthew 6:16–18 (NLT)
Those who will be frustrated by this are the ones who want to get attention and notoriety for their so-called spiritual discipline and example. The problem is that they are focused on the wrong audience. All the spiritual disciplines God endorses are designed to strengthen our relationship with Him and prepare us to serve His purposes. When we shift our attention to impressing others, we miss the point, and God will not reward us. Period.
When we approach a practice like fasting with the right attitude, we deliberately do not parade around for others to admire us; instead, we do it privately as an act of devotion. Jesus spoke about this earlier in the same chapter of Matthew,
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Matthew 6:5–6 (NLT)
If I am fasting and praying with the humility and heart God wants, I can know that He will reward me. If I am doing things to impress others and show them how spiritually advanced I am, I will be on my own.
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org