Motives (vs. 1-18)—Jesus uses three examples here to make the same point; obviously this is extremely important or He wouldn’t be emphasizing it so strongly. He discusses doing “charitable deeds” (NKJV; the old KJV has “alms,” the ASV “righteousness”). “Do not sound a trumpet before you” (v. 2), which is rather humorous; one can picture someone blowing a trumpet to call attention to himself so that people will see the good work he is doing. No, Jesus says to do your righteousness from a pure heart, with no ulterior motive than to honor God, a point He also made in 5:16. The same is true for prayer (6:5-15), and fasting (6:16-18). Your Father in heaven will reward you for pure motives.
This is a very difficult matter for humans. Praise from others is a nice thing, and blessings from God are even nicer, so it can be challenging for us to make sure that we have no ulterior reason behind our good deeds. Now, obviously there is the desire that God will see and bless us; He expects that. It’s why Jesus says in verse 6, for example, “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” We want God to bless us and He wants to. But we must work towards a higher plateau in our service to Jehovah, for if we serve Him only for the rewards, only for what’s in it for us, then chances are our service will be stunted, selfish, and shallow. Serve Him because you love Him, you truly appreciate what He has done for you (you certainly will never outgive Him or deserve what He’s done for you), and because you want to bring a smile to the lips of your heavenly Father. If we can reach that point in our service to God, then we will have risen above the way the world acts and become truly more as He wishes us to be. And we will put ourselves in a better position to be truly blessed by Him. Blessed are the pure in heart!
One last thought here: study the so-called “Lord’s prayer” of verses 9-15. It’s an example only, certainly not intended to become a ritual. But break it down and see what is there: praise to God, a desire for His will to be done, a request for daily physical necessities, and a petition for forgiveness and spiritual protection and blessings. That’s a pretty good summary of what our prayers ought to be like.
Priorities (vs. 19-24)—What’s the most important thing in your life? Jesus tells us to put our treasures in heaven, not on this earth. Nothing can rob us of our heavenly reward, but if our hearts are on the things of this world, we will almost surely be disappointed (vs. 19-21). Keep focused on what is vital—serving and honoring God (vs. 22-23). You can’t serve God and the world; the human heart simply isn’t big enough to love both equally. One of the two will always come out on top (v. 24). Do your utmost to make sure it is the Lord and His will that does. Blessed are the pure in heart!
Trust (vs. 25-34)—“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (v. 33). Our heavenly Father knows what we need. He takes care of the birds (v. 26), the lilies of the field do not worry about their sustenance (vs. 28-30)—and if God takes care of these relatively unimportant things, then surely He will take care of us. Worrying about it isn’t going to do any good anyway—“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (v. 27). Jesus, of course, is not counseling us to sit back and wait for food and clothing to miraculously fall from heaven. But an undue concern for these matters, at the expense of our spiritual service to God, demonstrates a lack of faith in Him. Worrying about the basics of life and neglecting God is what the world does (v. 32). We have a heavenly Father to look to Who will take care of us if we will “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” i.e., strive first to be right with God and pleasing to Him. “And all these things shall be added unto you.” Added to what? The marvelous, and more essential, spiritual blessings we have in Christ Jesus. Upon proper trust and obedience, God will provide every need we have—spiritual and physical. And if we did starve to death for some reason beyond us that only God knew, well, then we’d go to heaven and be a whole lot better off, wouldn’t we. But as one fellow wrote, maybe with a touch of unsophistication, God is not only the God of grace, He is also the God of groceries. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart; they shall see God.”
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