“The church is full of hypocrites.”

That’s what people say. I’ve heard it said. It’s hard to argue with that statement, mostly because I look in the mirror. I go to church. I have huge gaps between what I do and what I want to do. I say noble things and don’t do them. That’s usually what people are talking about when they talk about hypocrites and church.

“You say you’re a Christian and then you do that?”

But in Matthew 6, Jesus seems to be thinking about a different kind of hypocrite, people who do noble things but for the wrong reasons.

He identifies three areas of behavior where hypocrites do things the wrong way, behaviors perfect for creating an appearance of spirituality: giving, praying, and fasting. Helping out poor people, that’s important to do. And praying, what could be more spiritual than praying? And fasting, well, that kind of self-denial is amazing.

But, Jesus says, don’t be public, be private.

Don’t pray to attract attention. Don’t fast for the compliments you get, for the good feeling you have when people notice your actions. And don’t give in a way that makes it easy for people to notice your actions.

If the only time you give is when you get a tax deduction or when you find out someone else is giving or when there is a wall of recognition, then by all means help.

But don’t expect God to care.

If the only time you talk with God is when people are listening, and then with a deep voice and flowery language, enjoy their comments about how much they enjoy when you pray.

But don’t expect God to care what you say.

Why should he care? Think about it. You wouldn’t care. You wouldn’t listen to what I said if I talked to you only when people were listening.

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From Learning a new routine. Reading the Sermon on the Mount a little bit at a time