Playing to the Crowd- Matthew 6:1

I have always had a hard time walking in front of crowds. I have been told from time to time that I walk funny. I'm not sure if that is what started my "awkwardness" while walking in front of people, but, to this day, I can't walk through a gym without feeling like people are watching me, and then I immediately feel like I am walking funny and the harder I try to walk "normal," the more I feel like my gait is getting messed up!
Pretty silly, right?

At first glance, it is, but that self-consciousness is actually a pretty dangerous thing for me because I constantly have this sense that I'm on a stage. I used to do a lot of theater. Being aware that people are watching when you are putting on a show is a good thing. It helps you remember to perform well so people will enjoy the show and applaud. But my mind has trouble flipping that switch off so I can simply just live honestly when I am not on stage. Constantly having the sense that people are watching you when you are not on a stage is a bad thing. It causes you to remember to perform well so people will enjoy the show and applaud.

In chapter 6, Jesus turns from what it means to live righteously to what it means to practice religion. Isn't it funny, that when we talk about what it means to be a Christian, we usually start with the "religious" stuff like church attendance, prayer, Bible reading, etc. and then, we talk about the difference it makes in our day to day lives. It's worth a pause before we move on to notice that Jesus starts with how we treat and love people and only then moves on to talk about how we do "religion."

I'm just thankful that Jesus doesn't condemn me for having trouble turning my "stage mentality" off. He simply says to switch the audience that I am playing to. If my audience is people, then whatever praise they give me is about all I will get. But if I can center my thoughts on "performing" for an audience of One- the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords- then I will have reward in heaven, not just the reward of the praise of men.

For the Jew, the primary tenets of religion boiled down to three things: alms-giving, prayer, and fasting. Jesus addresses each of those individually based on this principle of performing for God and not man, and we will look at those in more detail in the coming weeks. For now, I want to give us a few questions to help us think about what our current motives are.

• When you are planning for "going to church," do you decide on your attendance based on people expecting you to be there or based on a desire to gather with the saints to build them up, to be built up, and to gather before God's throne in worship?
• Do you feel shame when you forget to bring a contribution to put into the plate on Sunday morning, but have no trouble driving or walking past individuals who are holding a cardboard sign? (I'm not making a blanket statement about what should or shouldn't be given or done, I'm just trying to get the conversation in your mind going.)
• Is personal prayer and study done (or left undone) more out of a sense of duty and/or guilt based on what a Christian ought to do, or out of a desire to spend time with God and hear from Him through His word?
• Does all of your serving of others only happen when there is a group with a plan, or are you constantly looking for ways to serve individually and spontaneously each day?
• When you are worshiping with the church, are you more conscious of being heard and seen by the people around you (am I off/on key? am I singing too loud? am I assuming the correct posture? do I blend in well enough to avoid attention?), or are you picturing falling down at the feet of God and praising/petitioning Him with no thought of how others might judge you?

This is not a scientific test. It's really based on some of my own struggles and meant to just get us thinking. Perhaps if we don't like the answers we come to on some of these, it would be good to spend time asking God to help us change our thought patterns so we can realize that He is the only audience that matters in any situation of life.

Here's what I want to ask you to do for the next several weeks. Sometimes, I think we just have a lack of imagination and a lack of role models in genuine living. I'd like to ask you- not the other who read this blog...you- to start commenting anonymously for the next couple of weeks about ways you are practicing religion and ways God has used you to serve. Since you will post it anonymously, the praise will go to God and not to you...which is the whole idea in the first place of our light shining before men..."so that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Let's give each other reason to praise!