So, why do we do good deeds? Let’s be honest: it gives us a good feeling to help other people, doesn’t it? We all like to see the reaction on someone’s face when he or she opens a gift from us. But in today’s passage Jesus challenges us to take a closer look at our motivations, even when we seem to be the most selfless.

Now, it should go without saying that we shouldn’t help other people just because of the good publicity we might receive. But in verse 3, Jesus challenges us to go further, to hide our good deeds even from ourselves. In other words, we shouldn’t dwell on our good deeds, being proud of them and using them to build ourselves up, even within our own minds. Instead, we should move right along to the next opportunity to bless someone else, trusting God to give us whatever reward He thinks is appropriate.

And again, it should be obvious that we shouldn’t pray to God just so that other people might be impressed. But this is because, at root, prayer is not primarily about ourselves, or even about having God meet our needs. Because God already knows what we need before we ask Him (v. 8), it is therefore more important in our prayers to focus on God Himself : on His might and majesty, on His good and perfect will.

And all this makes sense if we look at prayers and good deeds in terms of the relationships they express. I mean, Jesus wouldn’t have to challenge the way we talk to our sweethearts or the reason we do good things for them, would He? Of course not. You don’t do something nice for your sweetheart to impress anyone else: you’re just focused on his or her needs. In the same way, when you talk to your sweetheart, you don’t care what anyone else thinks about you, and you really aren’t that interested in getting anything for yourself: you just want to be with him or her, and your attention is focused like a laser beam on your beloved.

The bottom line is that if we really love other people, we won’t try to score points by doing good deeds for them. If we really love God, we’ll treasure spending time with Him, regardless of whether we get any material blessings out of Him or not. So, do our prayers and actions flow out of true love? Or are we really just concerned about ourselves?

Matthew 6:1-6 (NASB)

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
3 “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing
4 that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
5 “And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.