JUNE 10, Matthew 6:5-6

Jesus warns His disciples not to be like the Pharisees who are hypocrites. A hypocrite is a person who leads a double life. He appears one way in public but is another person in private.

The Pharisees loved to pray in the open so that men could see them. They wanted others to see that they were fasting, praying and giving donations to the poor. All of their deeds were to impress people and to get them to think highly of them. Jesus says that they will be rewarded for such hypocrisy. This is not pleasing to God because He is more concerned about our heart condition.

How is your relationship with God? One way to tell is to examine our private lives and what we do behind closed doors. That is the real test, isn’t it? The Pharisees failed the test because they do everything for a show. In their private moments, they are totally different. Their motivation was to gain the approval of men but they had no true belief or communion with God.

If your life behind closed doors was examined today, will you be found as one who is close to God or one who is a hypocrite like the Pharisees? Jesus tells us that we should go into our rooms, close the door and then start to pray. Cultivate this discipline of being quiet and alone before God to do your quiet time. We need to check ourselves and make sure that our private lives behind closed doors are pleasing before God. What we do in public must be a result of who we are in private. That is the only way to keep ourselves from being hypocrites. Do not confuse activities and service with holiness and spirituality. There must be a real and personal relationship with God, in quiet prayer and reflection on His Word.

Rephrase the below verse (1 Sam 16:7b) to see what matters to God!

for man looketh / for the Lord seeth / but the Lord looketh on the heart. / on the outward appearance, / not as man seeth;

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Thought: Am I the same person in public and in private?

Prayer: Father in heaven, search my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me. May all that I do come from a heart that longs for Your approval and not the approval of men. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.