Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:1–8, 16–18 (day three)
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.”
How would you like to be seen by others? That very image is exactly what you will want to announce about yourself – both in direct ways (trumpet blast) and in nuanced ways (gloomy face). “I am devout.” “I am generous.” “I am disciplined.” These are good things. And you want good things. But good things are hard to find and learn and practice. So you’ll settle for people thinking you want good things. Who hasn’t experienced this? We’re all Pharisees now. It’s not merely that living this way is a bad look. It’s that living this way isn’t devoted or generous or spiritually disciplined at all. There are some things so intimate that the only place to keep them without destroying them is between you and God.
