The Sermon on a Mountain Continues: Don’t Do Good Works to Be Praised by People

6 “Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. ² So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it with trumpet fanfare. This is what hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets in order to be praised by people. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. ³ When you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. ⁴ Give your contributions privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer^(A)

⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They like to stand in synagogues and on street corners to pray so that everyone can see them. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. ⁶ When you pray, go to your room and close the door. Pray privately to your Father who is with you. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

⁷ “When you pray, don’t ramble like heathens who think they’ll be heard if they talk a lot. ⁸ Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “This is how you should pray:

¹⁴ “If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures.

Fasting

¹⁶ “When you fast, stop looking sad like hypocrites. They put on sad faces to make it obvious that they’re fasting. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. ¹⁷ When you fast, wash your face and comb your hair. ¹⁸ Then your fasting won’t be obvious. Instead, it will be obvious to your Father who is with you in private. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.

True Riches

¹⁹ “Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Instead, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust don’t destroy and thieves don’t break in and steal. ²¹ Your heart will be where your treasure is.

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light in you is darkness, how dark it will be!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Stop Worrying^(B)

²⁵ “So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?

²⁶ “Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or gather the harvest into barns. Yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

²⁷ “Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying?

²⁸ “And why worry about clothes? Notice how the flowers grow in the field. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. ²⁹ But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. ³⁰ That’s the way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it’s alive, and tomorrow it’s thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you people who have so little faith?

³¹ “Don’t ever worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ ³² Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. ³³ But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you.

³⁴ “So don’t ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.