Matthew 6- Our Father Which Seeth in Secret

As I was reading Matthew 6, I noticed a pattern. When dealing with the hypocrites, whose desire was to be seen of men, He mentioned “Our Father Which Seeth In Secret.” In fact, He did this 3 times! Each time, as He spoke of different religious practices, He compared man's way versus God's way. I think He had a point for us to learn.

In the area of alms, or giving, let us remember that this is a good thing, and it's a thing we ought to do. Man's Way is to bring attention to the fact that we give. The pharisees had somebody sound a trumpet before them. This brings everyone's attention to their so-called good deeds. Jesus said, “They have their reward.” He says this because they only seek their own glory, and that is all they will get. He then instructs us in God's Way. He said, “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” This is a figure of speech. Our desire should be that no one see our good deeds. Why? So that our alms may be in secret. Why is that? Because “thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”  Oftentimes we seek to do well and it seems that all of our good deeds go unseen. I can tell you that NO GOOD DEED GOES UNSEEN. I think it's awesome that Our Father, which seeth in secret, sees them. And best of all, He will reward thee openly. Kinda ironic, don't you think? That is God's way.

For the sake of time, I will highlight the two other times that Jesus speaks of our Father which seeth in secret.

PRAYER

Man's Way- Desiring to pray in public, with the intent to be seen of men. Also charactarized by vain repititions and much speaking.

Man's Reward- They are seen of men

God's Way- Jesus said to enter your closet, shut the door, and pray to God (not to others to be seen). Remember the fact- God knows your needs before you ask Him. Jesus gave an example prayer we know to be “The Lord's Prayer.” It is a fairly short prayer, which contrasts the vain repititions and much speaking.

God's Reward- He will hear your prayer and reward you openly.

FASTING

Man's Way- They fast, but they look very sad and disfigure their faces so that everyone will know that they have fasted.

Man's Reward- They may LOOK spiritual to the undiscerned, but they appear as hypocrites to others.

God's Way- Wash your face, anoint your head- Basically, clean yourself up. The goal here is to not appear as if you have fasted. You should not want the attention of others.

God's Reward- God will see your sacrifice, and he will reward you openly.

CONCLUSION

I can't help but to point out that after these three things, Jesus then speaks on laying up treasures in Heaven. Perhaps these are the rewards that God will openly give us? No thief will ever steal. When you do things to be seen of others, it might make you look good, or it could make you look like a hypocrite. Either way, your glory will only last a short time. When you do the right things for the RIGHT REASONS, God sees everything that you do. Remember that God loves to reward you openly. Jesus then states that “No man can serve two masters: For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” Think on these questions:

When we do good things in this world, why are we doing them?

Are we doing them with the secret desire to be seen of men?

Or are we doing them in secret, so that our Father, which seeth in secret, will see them?

Who is your master?