DOING GOOD TO GET NOTICED

In His walk and ministry on earth, Jesus Christ had no-tolerance policy when it came to doing good to get noticed. Infact His policy was: depend on no human praise and credit for your good deeds. Let your good deeds and works be well directed toward God and let the purpose be - to glorify Him.

Reference: Matthew 23:5 New Century Version (NCV) 'They do good things so that other people will see them. They enlarge the little boxes holding Scriptures that they wear, and they make their special prayer clothes very long.'

Jesus warned against the Scribes and Pharisees concerning their motives about any good thing they did. It was for people to see them. In other words, their motives were to impress others. So Jesus' warning was concentrated on the Jewish religious authorities, showing Jesus as a fierce controversialist concerning their ways of doing things, in contrast to the values of the kingdom of God. Their superficial approach to good deeds got Jesus' attention, such that He labelled them as hypocrites.

Jesus gives us the right approach as the Kingdom standard for any good works or deeds - expect no credit from men; if you get praised, accept it and give glory to God but don't be carried away by their accolades. Simply put, if you do good deeds, do it for the Lord's sake. If someone notices you, still give the credit to God. If no one notices your good deeds, you aren't disappointed because you don't do it to get noticed by men anyway. That's the right approach in regard to doing good.

If you are very concerned about other people's praise and acknowledgement concerning your good works, then stop and ask yourself this question: 'What if nobody knew of the good I do, would I still do it? This question will arrest and determine your motive for any good deeds you embark on. No wonder the Bible says, 'And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ' (Colossians 3:23-24 NKJV).

This also includes our attitude toward serving God. Don't fake your spirituality. When you're serving God, don't do it because you want men to observe that you're very spiritual and mindful of the Lord. When you render services in the house of God, do it because you truly love God. That means, even when you're ignored by fellow workers or Christians, you remain who you are and still offer your best to the Lord. If you're in a church choir, don't nurture the motive to catwalk to the stage and be seen by others and then sing majestically, just to be hailed and approved by others later. Do it for the Lord by engaging the influence of the Holy Spirit so you can make a notable impact in the lives of men.

If you raise your hands in worship, raise it in sincerity, and not to show off your costly wrist watch. These things happen, even though we may laugh about them. No wonder the later part of our referenced Scripture noted that the Scribes and the Pharisees enlarge the little boxes holding Scriptures that they wear, and they make their special prayer clothes very long, in order to get attention and impress. Don't get me wrong; costly materials are good but a worship time is the wrong time to show off, bearing in mind that there's time for everything.

Silence the urge to get noticed; subdue the intention to impress at the wrong time. Slay the desire to flow in the flesh; shut down the fake, 'The Looord is good' and the show off 'Glory- Halleluuuyah' in trendy religious terms. Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) informs us that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him. You can see why we must get fed up with the carnal charisma and compelling attractiveness that may get human attention and arouse an aura of self - importance during worship times.

Let the Holy Spirit take absolute control of your service and worship to God so you can inspire the true devotion in others and let God take His due glory. Remember this: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24 KJV). Therefore stir the desire to serve God in spirit and in truth always.

Scripture Reading - Matthew 6:1-8; Hebrews 13:16; James 1:27; Galatians 2:10.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank you for the privilege to learn how to pay attention in keeping to your standard in my charity giving, display of good works, and in rendering service to you. As the natural inclination to practise doing good finds expression through me in my daily activities, my motives for good deeds are filtered and purified by your Word and by my association with the Holy Spirit. Hence, my good works remain unuttered as passionate cravings in my heart for you, my Lord! Being filled with your Spirit, I serve you with a spirited vigour; without murmuring regrets and propensity to impress men, in Jesus' Name, Amen!