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Money and Hypocrites, Matthew 6, Day 14, Jan 14,

By Anita Mathias







These are my daughters, Zoe and Irene. Irene, just 4, spontaneously started praying and thanking God for the Rhine Falls in Switzerland, seen in the background. She then realized that we were photographing her, but continued unfazed, with, however, the tiniest smile on her face. “She is praying as the hypocrites do,” Roy said, but I think God smiled too.


Matthew 6

 1 “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.

That’s really scary. If we are righteous merely to be seen by other, we will have no reward from our Father in heaven.

I would say that the key word, the key principle, of the Sermon on the Mount is faith. Should we be good to receive praise from men, or be quietly good, and receive a reward from our Father in heaven?

Praise from men is immediate and gratifying. To believe that we will receive a reward from our heavenly father takes faith. Will it be now? Or later? What form will it take?

Personally, I would love to receive a reward from my heavenly Father, both in this life, and in the life to come.

And I am cool with any reward he gives me—whether the practical desires of my heart (travel, sufficient money, health, success in my work, an increasingly happy marriage, successful and Christian children) or more importantly, his spiritual gifts—joy, peace, love, contentment. And the former are worth little without the latter.

   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 honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

So, if you work for the praise of men, you do get a reward (or no one would do it.)

You’ve fooled people into thinking you are the real deal, and have got your reward from them in terms of their good opinion (in full).

You do not get the exponential blessings of the Father in this life, or later.


3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Again, the demand of faith.

Be generous, but don’t let a soul know what you have done. Nobody will be impressed with you.

But your Father who has seen what you have done secretly will reward you, openly, it says in some versions


    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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 

Hypocrite, play-actor, like the Greek actors who put a mask over their face when they were acting.

Don’t be a prayer-meeting bore. Don’t be a hypocrite. Don’t stand up and bore everyone with long-winded prayers, losing tracking of your audience in your display of your own compassion and wisdom. Don’t pray to be seen and to impress. Don’t worry about the impression you create when you pray. In fact, don’t pray in public without putting your prayers through the sieve of strict honesty. Are you addressing God or impressing your audience?

Will you have a reward? Will people be impressed with you? Yeah. You’ll have your reward, such as it is, in full. However, these prayers will never make it to your heavenly Father.

 But then  perhaps they were not intended to!


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. 

You do it in secret, when there are hundreds of lucrative, pleasurable, career-boosting things you could be doing instead of praying.

But God sees and values the time you have spent with him, and if, we choose to pray, in secret, he will give us a reward.

A reward!! From God!! That’s truly exciting. Whatever he may choose to give us.

Blessed is the one whom GOD rewards.


7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Let your prayers be short, brief, and to the point, since you are speaking to someone who knows your needs anyway.


   9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

   “‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, 

May your name be revered.

10 your kingdom come, 

Let us see your beautiful kingdom in our lives, and in the world around us.

your will be done, 
   on earth as it is in heaven. 

Help me to do your will. And may it be done on earth as it is in your heaven. 

11 Give us today our daily bread. 

Give us what we need to stay full alive, in mind, body and soul

12 And forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors. 

Wipe our sins off your books, as we wipe the sins of those who sin against us off our books.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

Protect us from temptation, for you know how weak we are. Temptation can also be translated as testing or trials.
   

but deliver us from the evil one.

The phrase tou ponerou can mean either evil or the evil one, Satan. ESV note, “The best protection from sin and temptation is to turn to God and to depend on his direction.”

And in particular, deliver us from the power of the evil one.

Here’s a longer blog post I did on The Lord’s Prayer.

http://theoxfordchristian.blogspot.com/2010/08/lords-prayer-superb-and-comprehensive.html

   14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

If we do not write off other people’s weakness, treachery, and perfidy, our Father will also hold our sins against us. And then, who would stand? 


    16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others 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.

Do you want the rewards of God? Then fast–in secret.(This is a spiritual discipline I’ve never learnt!)

Live under the eyes of God. Do things to be seen only by God. Be rewarded by God.


    19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 

Elsewhere Jesus says,“Do not work for food which perishes, but for food which endures to eternal life.” We often have a choice as to whether we will spend our energy on things which will bring us more money, or things which will be rewarded in heaven (prayer and giving, for instance).

Do not pile up money, for there is a risk that your heart will be where your money is. Do not make your money your treasure. It can be lost.

Break your focus on your bank balance.  How?

I ask the Holy Spirit to come and flood my heart and mind and spirit when I find myself thinking too much about money—how much I have, how much I should have, how much I have coming in, how to make more.

Store nothing? That’s one way to live. I don’t have the stomach for that.  At present, when I find money entering my thoughts over-much I pray for the Spirit to invade my mind instead. If it becomes a serious problem, there is nothing like increasing one’s giving to break the hold of money on your mind.


20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

Store up treasures—of love, of goodness, of good deeds—in heaven.


21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Your emotional life and love and desires will inevitably be caught up with what you treasure, whether it’s your bank balance or your God. Or success, or your blog or your writing or social/churchly success or the idol du jour.


   22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

If you focus on glorious things, your whole being will be suffused by light.

If you focus on unhealthy things, your soul, your spirit, will be in darkness. Oh no!!

Focus on the light instead. This takes a deliberate effort—a deliberate flipping out of the tape, and replacing it.


24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Serve, douleo, implies the work of a slave. A slave can only belong to one master.

We cannot love two things with all our hearts, with all our minds, and with all our spirits. So we have to choose. It’s either God—or money. Or all the things which come under the dominion of the devouring God Mammon—success, fame, wealth, reputation.

Oh Lord, Lord, Lord, let it be you. First of all, you are lovely, and you can fill my spirit with joy. Secondly, you can give me all the money I need, but money cannot give me as much of you as I need! Or any of you!

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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