“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—

 blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” 

Matthew 6:1-4

A motive is what causes us to act a certain way or do certain things. In this passage, Jesus isn’t criticizing those who give generously for the right reasons: out of love, compassion, and a truly generous spirit. He’s criticizing the “hypocrites”, a Greek word that means “mask-wearers”, because like actors on a stage, they are simply pretending to be someone they are not. And while the audience may be fooled, Jesus never is. A good motive can make our actions right, but a bad motive can make the exact same actions wrong. Because the reason we do things comes from our heart, and God examines our hearts, not our performances.

We all struggle with hypocrisy at times. We allow pride, insecurity, people-pleasing, fear, guilt, and many other things to motivate us to help others and to give generously. Sometimes we even serve God for the wrong reasons, and when we do, we aren’t really serving Him at all. We must be willing to question our motives daily and ask the Lord to reveal any hypocrisy in our lives. He wants us to take off our masks and stop pretending that we have hearts that look like His, when we don’t!

Ask yourself why you do the things you do, whether it is helping someone, giving gifts, serving in ministry, or even attending church. Are your motives Christ-centered or self-centered? When your identity is deeply rooted in Jesus, there will be no reason to draw attention to what you do or how much you give. Because your hope will be in what Jesus has already done for you, rather than in your own accomplishments. When you live in the freedom of God’s grace, you no longer need to puff yourself up. So lay down your mask, and surrender your heart while you’re at it. After all, you will want God to reward you for your faith, not your acting! You are loved!