Sermon on the Mount part 10

Matthew 6:1-4; 16-34: The Truth Behind Giving

When I embarked on this journey, I knew I would be thrust into a time of self examination. I knew I had many things in my life that needed attention. Ten blogs later and I realize I was right. There are a lot of things in my life that need attention. It’s so easy to become lazy in – and get caught up in – societies definitions of right and wrong and forget the road to righteousness is that little narrow uphill path. When thinking about that narrow road, I was reminded of the connector paths at the Alta ski resort in Salt Lake City UT. There are these small little trails you can go on to get from one trail to the next. They are maybe 3 skis wide, so there isn’t much room for error when skiing on them. If you go to far either way, you will either fall down a steep hill or fall into the mountain, ski off the trail and… fall down a steep hill (yes, I’ve done this!). The best thing to do – stay on that trail. Carefully navigate it. And that is what we need to do as we hunger and thirst after righteousness. Stay on the trail, because if we go to far to the left or right, down a steep hill we will go. With this in mind, let’s move to chapter 6.

This week I’m going to look at Matthew 6:1-4 and 6:16-34. In Chapter 5, Jesus laid out a plan where by we will be most blessed. He has shown us when we let go of ourselves, we find God is everything. He turned all the things we think about how to live our life and turned them upside down. Those who are poor, mourn, are gentle, thirsty, hungry, are pure will be those who are blessed. Society wants to teach us that the strong get ahead. Instead, Jesus wants us to see it’s in our weakness when God shows up to strengthens us and make a way when there is no way. God is the one who completes us, not our self sufficiency. Jesus then redefined and honed in, on the true definitions of the law. It isn’t about the outside, it’s all about the heart. In these two passages, Jesus continues to focus our attention on the stuff in our heart.

How to Give: 6:1-4 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

It’s the sermon every church goer wants to avoid. The emphasis that promotes the most guilt in any congregation. The one that hits us right in the… pocketbook. Stewardship Sunday! If you’ve ever been to church, you’ve encountered at least one sermon or talk on giving. Why it’s important to tithe. How we need to give back to God and give to missions… Money issues seem to be a prevalent subject not just in the church, but everywhere. Today in America, we are looking at millions of people out of work due to the covid 19 pandemic. That is multiplied all over the world. While things are starting to open up, we are still dealing with a current U.S. national unemployment rate at 14.7% (statistics as of April 2020). Just last week 2.4 more Americans filed for unemployment bringing the total to 38.6 million. Money, or should I say, the lack of money, is in the conversation. While it’s probably the most unpopular subject to talk about in church, Jesus doesn’t shy away from it. In fact, throughout the gospels, Jesus talks about money a lot, just not the way we talk about it today. Money comes up in the Bible more than 800 times. Jesus mentions it more than prayer. He used money as an illustration in 11 of the 39 recorded parables. Why? Because it was a topic people then (and now) could identify with. The difference? Jesus is looking at the heart. In verses 1-4 Jesus gives us the right path toward righteous giving.

The first thing Jesus tells us is not to practice righteousness in front of people – don’t do something just so you can be seen. In fact it says, don’t even let your left hand know what the right hand is doing. I think this trap is so easy to fall into. You want to give. At the same time, you want people to notice that you gave. It feels good to get those little pats on the back. Those expressions of, “wow, isn’t she great.” That’s the pitfall Jesus warns us against. He is saying – if it’s really all about the heart, then what you give isn’t the point. The best illustration I can give is in Mark 12:41-44. Sitting across from the temple treasury, Jesus watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning His disciples, He said to them, “I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.” Notice it says that Jesus was watching how, not what people were dropping into the treasury. The treasury boxes were actually trumpet shaped, which might explain Jesus’ comment about not sounding a trumpet. The more money someone put in, the louder and grander the sound would have been. The widow put in two small coins which wouldn’t have been noticed. Yet it was the richest gift of the day. It’s not about the how much – it all about the the heart.

How to Fast: 6:16-18 “Whenever you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, so that you don’t show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

What I found most fascinating about this portion of Jesus’ sermon is the first three words: Whenever you fast. It wasn’t “if” you fast, but “whenever” you fast. There is an assumption that we will be fasting. So, why is it that more believers don’t fast? I believe it’s due to a few things. First, we don’t talk about it in church. I don’t really remember a sermon or a Bible study on fasting in the last several years, if ever. Second, abstinence isn’t something we do well. In a world where we encounter the idea of more, more, more, abstaining from food is not popular. The only time we hear about fasting is usually a fad diet for weight loss. A few years ago a popular fast was the “Daniel Fast” (even Chris Pratt posted an Instagram story about it). The basics of the Daniel Fast is 21 days of basically only eating veggies and drinking water. There are many websites dedicated to the Daniel fast and each describe what can and can’t be eaten or drank. I believe the closet thing the church gets to fasting is lent. Lent, for those who don’t practice it, is giving up something from Ash Wednesday through Easter. Finally, there is a lack of understanding as to what real fasting is all about. I believe if we really understood fasting, more people would do it.

There are many kinds of Biblical fasts. Some examples are: Nehemiah who fasted when he found out that the walls of Jerusalem were broken. In his despair, he called out to God for help and direction. As I pointed out above, Daniel fasted for 21 days. This was a fast while Daniel was mourning. He called out to God for understanding and deliverance. Jonah told all of Ninevah to fast for repentance. Esther led the people of Israel to fast for three days before she went before the king. Judges 20:26 speaks of the people fasting before battle. They wanted direction from God and they wanted God to go before them in battle. Yom Kippur is a day of fasting for repentance. It is actually a full fast, meaning you abstain from food and water. Paul and Barnabas fasted before they left on their missionary journey. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness to begin His ministry. Each of these fasts had a different focus and even a different food and water intake. The one thing they all have in common is they are all accompanied by earnest prayer. See, fasting isn’t about giving up food and/or water. Giving up the food and water is about turning your focus toward God and waiting for Him to speak.

I have done a few fasts throughout my life. Before I went overseas the first time, I spent some time fasting and praying. I fast on Yom Kippur each year, taking the opportunity to refocus my attention on my relationship with God. I have fasted with my husband before we made some big decisions. Each time, I found a deep, meaningful time with the Lord. It is a time to focus on my relationship with Him and His calling in my life. You see, the focus of the fast isn’t me. The focus of the fast is about God. It’s about His direction, His path, His forgiveness, His calling. Him! We give up food so we can focus our full attention on God’s voice. We want Him to speak to us. What Jesus wants us to remember is when we do fast, we don’t need to broadcast it so others will think we are oh so spiritual. Look at them. They are really holy because they’re fasting. Jesus wants us to get our hearts right when we do fast. It’s not about how spiritual we are, it’s about where are hearts are.

Questions to Ponder

1. How can we refocus our giving habits to really be from a joyful heart instead of something we do because we feel guilty or it’s the right thing to do.

2. Have you ever fasted? If not, why not?