Matt 6:1-18 - Check your Motivations

There are deep motivations behind everything we do. Examining our motivations reveals to us the end that we seek in what we are doing. In this section on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to check our motivations for why we engage in the spiritually formative practices of giving, prayer, and fasting. If we're seeking recognition from others, we will have our reward. Seek first and foremost the heart of God and these tools will be forgotten in the same way an artist doesn't think about a paintbrush beyond the result the brush brings. Let transformation into Christ's likeness guide all you do. Practice: The Lord’s prayer becomes a model for how we should pray and is a useful guide to lead us into deeper prayer: ‘Our Father in heaven, Holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Begin with recognizing God’s holiness and his agenda for bringing his kingdom to this world. This keeps us in check as people who continually long to be gods over our dominion and have our will done. Give us today our daily bread. We ask God to give us our daily bread as a recognition that we are incapable of providing for ourselves. This keeps us in check when we move beyond our basic needs and seek to control what is due us because of how hard we have worked. This proves to be a good lens through which we will examine 6:19-34 where Jesus challenges the focus and longings of our hearts. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Forgiveness is something that is much easier to receive than it is to give. Being honest in prayer about the level of forgiveness we have received from God opens us to the forgiveness we need to offer others. Allowing this guide to take you deeper, the Spirit will develop a heart of compassion within you where you evaluate the alleged wrongdoings of others with the heart of God and have compassion for them which spurs forgiveness. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ The prayer ends with a recognition that life is filled with temptation. I prefer the translation, “let us not fall into temptation,” because I am uncomfortable with the notion that God is tempting us, which is sometimes assumed from this verse. Asking God to deliver us from the evil one is recognition of our inability to do this on our own. True deliverance comes with submission to God’s work in your life. When you try to deliver yourself from evil, you are still trying to be god of your own life. The Lord’s Prayer is a good guide for listening to the Spirit nudge you into areas of your life where you still need to submit to God. Pray the prayer slowly and allow time for meditation on each section. Allow the Spirit to examine your life and lead you into transformation.