Doing the Thing for the Right Reasons
January 25, 2023
Matthew 6:16-18 | Colossians 3:17
Sometimes it seems there are instructions from Jesus which may be less applicable to one’s life because what he is talking about is pretty foreign to one’s own experience.
Fasting?
Are people fasting these days?
Maybe they are. Maybe there are people who intentionally set aside food for a period of time to more closely pray, listen, or discern God’s will. More likely, some people take time away from an activity or substance or practice that otherwise saturates one’s life to come to a deeper dependence upon God’s sustenance.
Actually…maybe there are a lot of people fasting these days who are also following Jesus’ instructions here not to show much about it so none of us really know just who is or who isn’t fasting?
…maybe?
One way or the other, the spirit of Jesus’ instruction here is to do the spiritual thing for the right reasons. Maybe you don’t struggle with flaunting your fasting. But are there other spiritual practices or disciplines that you enjoy other people knowing about you? …in worship? …in prayer? …in theological prowess or academic discipline? Bumper stickers, degrees, t-shirts, memes, posters - there are many ways that one might flaunt.
It’s always a good thing to pause and ask oneself why it is I’m doing this or that. Is it for my glory or God’s? Who will get the attention - God or me?
Matthew 6:16-18
“And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.
Prayer
God -
Thank you for this day. I am grateful for the opportunity a new day brings: for the breath I take, the movement of the body you’ve given me, the food I will eat, and the responsibilities before me.
Help me live this day in gratitude for all this and more. Let me live boldly and rightly, humbly but surely. Give me reason and purpose as I seek to live out of my life for you and the people around me.
And give me enjoyment for as much of it as possible.
By your Spirit & in Christ, Amen.