Matthew 6: Secrets, Prayers, Forgiveness, Fasting, Treasures, and Worries
Good afternoon my dear friend!
Today is Chuseok weekend in Korea. It’s been a weird day with one of my friends leaving Earth yesterday.
I want to live my life “to the full.” Carpe Diem as my friend Jason would say. I want to live my life to the full as Jesus would want me to- after all he died for us so that we could live to the full (John 10:10).
Matthew 6 is a part of the Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Enjoy!
1″Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2″So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
I strongly encourage you to participate in anonymous philanthropy- with your time, money, resources, or talents you have. It feels great, glorifies God, and Jesus recommends it.
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. 6But 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. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9″This, then, is how you should pray:
” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Some of the churches and people remind me of hypocrites. I think public prayers should be heartfelt and straight too the point. It shouldn’t be a time to brag and show off your prayer skills. Genuine long prayers should be with you and God in your room. I personally like taking a walk and trying to connect with God in nature. It’s difficult to do in Seoul, because there are 25 million people in this city. Sometimes, I’ll pray by “calling” God on my cell phone. It helps me focus and encourages people around me to leave me alone. Of course when you do this you should, turn your phone off- so you don’t get interrupted by phone call.
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Forgiveness is hard, but required. I’m not perfect and I need all the forgiveness I can get. So, I do my best to forgive quickly. I don’t want a bitter seed to be growing in my heart.
16″When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Fasting is hard. It has to be a real kind of fast too. Fasting is a stronger way to petition to God. That’s how I understand it now. I haven’t done it in a while. At the beginning of this year my goal was to fast 52 days, once per each week. However, not eating all day, makes me weak and grumpy. For the time, being I probably won’t fast. Until that is something I really need to petition to God arises. Actually, that does remind me of something.
19″Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22″The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24″No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
There are two key points for me here. Store things of real value: love, peace, patience, joy, and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit(Galatians 5:22). We all store something. It might as well be only the good stuff. It’s easy to get distracted in our world, with Satan constantly bombarding us and all. Another reason I don’t have cable TV and try not too watch a lot of “R” rated movies is this. The eyes are the lamp of the body. In nerd terms, it is one more input for our bodies, you might as well put in the good stuff. You also must choose willingly good or evil.
25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
This scripture is what I wanted to focus on today. I’ve never been to the point financially where I was living pay check to pay check, until now that is. It has been very humbling. What I need to remember is that God will take care of me and that me worrying about everything is not going to be helping me. I want to focus on seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness- then focus on each day.
Thanks for reading.
Peace be with you,
~Hoo
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