“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. 

- Matthew 5:13-16

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

- Matthew 6:1-8

God came to earth as a man – fully human and fully God. Jesus is God. He is the Word, the Truth, the Way, the Life. He is the Light of the World. He gave up the glory that He knew before creation to come to earth on a multifaceted mission. He came that we might have life in abundance, He came to deliver eternal life, He came to preach and teach and reveal God’s glory and to demonstrate how people should live. During His brief earthly ministry, He also issued a number of commands or directives telling us how we should behave. Recognizing that He is God, we should pay special attention to His directives.

The passages above are from the Sermon on the Mount. They contain three positive directives (Jesus tells us to do certain things) and five negative directives (Jesus tells us not to do certain things). As to the positive, Jesus tells us to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16); He tells us to “beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1); and He tells us to “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret” (Matthew 6:6). In successive breaths during a single sermon Jesus tells us to let our light shine so that other people will see our good works and to avoid doing good works so that others will see them. How can we do both?

As with many things, it has to do with the condition of our hearts. When we perform good works or pray or fast, what are we seeking? Are we seeking God or praise from other people?

To gain context, let’s consider the negative directives. Jesus says, “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others” (Matthew 6:2). Helping the poor is presumed. It is good and something we should do, but what is our motivation? Do we perform good acts as a show, to enhance our social standing, to present ourselves in a way that will cause others to think we are better than we really are? The word hypocrite has its roots in performance, like actors performing on stage, pretending to be someone they are not. Do we selectively choose times and places to help people in need ensuring the spotlight shines brightly on us, or do we help because God’s love flowing through us gives us eyes to see others as beings created in God’s image and we need to help them without regard to who sees? Are we seeking praise from others or are we seeking God?

Next, Jesus turns His attention to prayer saying, “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others” (Matthew 6:5). Prayer is presumed. It is good. We should pray continuously, seeking God, communing with God, growing in relationship with God, and as we lead lives of prayer we pray in private, we pray in public, we pray all the time everywhere, and that is good. But if we make a big, theatrical production of our prayers, performing so that others will see us praying and view us in a holy light and think we are better than we are, if that is our motivation then our enhanced social standing will be our only reward – we will receive exactly what we sought. In the same way, if we pray genuinely seeking God, communing with God, growing in relationship with God, we will receive what we seek. Jesus’s warning makes me consider whether my motivation is God-centered or self-centered.

Jesus continues discussing prayer saying, “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Prayer is a conversation with God. It should be honest and transparent, and we should be on guard so that it does not become an opportunity to impress others with our eloquence or anything else. Again, what are we seeking?

Jesus warns us. He urges us to beware of our motivation when we do good works, when we pray, when we fast, inferring that we should be careful during all our public interaction. In fact, Jesus hyperbolically underscores the two points regarding prayer telling us to go to our room, close the door and pray privately. If we struggle praying honestly, transparently, genuinely seeking God in settings where others can see us, avoid those situations and pray privately.

In the same sermon, in successive breaths, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world and urges us to let our light shine before others so that they may see our good works, and then He warns against practicing acts of piety to be seen by others. So which is it? The key lies in the phrase “to be seen by others” (Matthew 6:1). Jesus is not commanding us to avoid public displays of loving action; in fact, He calls us to do just that. He commands us to avoid doing acts of love “to be seen by others.” Why are we acting in the first place? What motivates us? What are we seeking? Are we seeking God or praise from others?

May you continue seeking Him, desiring Him, growing in relationship with Him, allowing His holy transformation to occur in you, and allowing His light, life and love to be revealed through you while you are out in the world.