The Height of Hypocrisy

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven . . .

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words . . .

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.”

Matthew 6:1, 7, 16

In the spring of 2001, not too very long after I surrendered my life to Christ, my wife and I were having dinner at a barbecue joint in Columbus, GA. A waitress had just plopped two barbecue plates down in front of a couple sitting a few tables away from us.

I could tell the guy was about to pray before they ate. Back then, having been a Christian for just a few weeks, I didn’t know a whole lot about prayer. Well, I about fell out of my seat when he started praying screaming, “FATHER GOD, THANK YOU FOR THE BOUNTY BEFORE US . . .” Everyone in that place could hear him. On top of that, it went on and on and on and on. It was so loud I thought the guy smoking the pig in the kitchen was going to come out and say, “Amen, praise the Lord, Hallelujah.” I was so confused because it made me feel incredibly awkward, like it was just this loud, long repetition of meaningless words emptily hurled across the room.

Prayer is an awesome component of a Christian’s walk with God. It is an integral component of the relationship. Arguably, it is the most critical piece of the pie. But Jesus Himself encourages us to inspect our whys. Are we aiming to bring attention to ourselves and our supposed #Christianness, or are we praying to further the breadth and depth of our relationship with Jesus? Again, where is the motivation coming from?

Can you do the right thing for the wrong reason? People do it every day and twice on Sunday. Is it right to give (Matthew 6:1-4), pray (Matthew 6:5-15), and fast (Matthew 6:16-18)? Of course it is, but it ought to point up and not at yourself. It becomes a problem when it is self-focused rather than God-focused.

Would you pray in public the way you do if you were alone? Would you give like you give if no one knew you were giving? Would you fast if no one ever knew you were fasting?

During my childhood, there was a fast on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the Jewish year. Jews have fasted on this day each year for several thousand years. This is not a silly fast from social media or from cell phone usage like people do nowadays. On Yom Kippur, Jews do not eat, drink, take a bath, engage in sex, or wear leather goods. It is a day laser-focused on prayer and repentance.

I could make an excellent case that doing this once a year for 24 hours would be incredible. However, my strongest childhood memory from Yom Kippur is the sound of people bragging about fasting while, at the same time, “disfiguring” their faces (so they somehow look miserable) and whining about the very fast they’re bragging about. It was worn like a prideful badge of honor. The height of hypocrisy.

Probably the vast majority of people are more influenced by what men will say, than by what God Almighty thinks.

      G. Campbell Morgan

And into all this, Jesus proclaims, “You people are missing the entire point. It is not about the giving. It is about the Object of your giving, God. It is not about the prayer. It is about the Object of your prayer, God. It is not about the fast. It is about the Object of your fast, God.”

“Good” matters. Good deeds matter. But God is not a rewarder of good deeds when they’re done for recognition, pats on the back, self-glory, or self-indulgence. Christ-followers should give generously, pray without ceasing, and fast unnoticeably . . . all to the glory of God!

Lord, help me to check my whys. Help them to always have You in focus. If the evidences in my life begin to point at me, reel me back in and straighten me out. Let me be a humble witness for You, pointing people in my world to You as the Object of my generosity, my prayer, my fasting, and everything I do. Let it all be a beeline to You. In Your name, Amen.