Now we’re past the Lord’s Prayer. What else did Jesus preach about? Let us look at the next six verses.
“16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Again Jesus is talking about the intent behind the act. Take note that the Greek word used here for hypocrites is still the word for an actor in a drama. If we are staging our religious practices for the approval of other people, to be seen of men, we may as well be on the stage in a play. It is just as false. At least in a play the audience is aware that it is fiction. When we perform for the crowd at religious practices we create a false impression of piety while inside we are no more pious than the brawlers in the bar on Saturday night. This is a form of lying that is also a wasted effort.
If our intention is to please God, we don’t need to let anyone know what we’re doing unless we need to explain why we decline an invitation to eat or something along those lines. The key is the intention behind the act. The intention is the direction for the action to go. If your intention is toward other people, your benefit comes from them, and they have the power over you to grant or deny that benefit. But if your intention is toward God, your benefit comes from Him and He rewards openly and freely without denying any sincere effort.
Do not get the impression that all the benefit from God is pie in the sky in the by and by. Whenever you work on spiritual things, the benefit is immediate in your own soul. Many people think that Heaven is a physical place that they won’t touch until the Lord takes them there in the hereafter. Let me assure you, Heaven is a spiritual realm that you can enter into here and now. In the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, every time the people come together for the purpose of worshiping God it is understood that they have entered into Heaven. We see with our temporal eyes many liturgies separated by time and space. This is an illusion of our separated condition. There is only one liturgy, constantly in session in heaven, and whenever the people of God join for worship on Earth, wherever they are, they join in with that Heavenly worship; that is they enter into Heaven.
So too is it with anything we do unto God. Whenever our intention is spiritual, our presence in the spiritual realm of Heaven is real. The human soul, once awakened by the relationship with our Creator, is the bridge between all realms, physical, spiritual and supernal. When our focus is on the physical realm, the approval of other people or the gathering of material goods for the sake of material gain, we exclude ourselves from spiritual and supernal presence. It’s like putting your soul back to sleep by turning your back on God.
Jesus goes on to discuss the practice of acquiring material wealth as an end in itself. In poker it is often said the money is just the way of keeping score. Too many people think of life as a great game of poker in which they are competing against all other people, and their bank balance is their score in the game. Wake up people, this is not a game. You are not in competition with other people, your competition is against yourself and the spirits of darkness in high places who seek your spiritual destruction. Anything you may acquire on Earth, fame, wealth, reputation, etc., are fleeting and temporary. The elements and creatures of nature conspire to degrade it. And other people covet it and work to take it from you. But whatever you gain in the spirit is unassailable and permanent. It resides in a place where no one and nothing can touch it. That is where our focus must be.
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