REAL LOSS

DAY 45/366

Matthew 6:1 Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Unfortunately, there isn’t any other way to put this other than to attest to the fact that we live in an era of people pleasing. Many things are done for the ‘gram’ – to see how far it will go, how many likes and how many applauds we will receive as a result.
We live in an age where the claps of men appear to mean more than anything else, even the approval of God.

The reason Jesus addresses this concern with recurrent emphasis on the need to ensure that we do not simply pursue our rewards from men is because in truth, even though being celebrated by men carries some weight, this pales in comparison to receiving a sea of applause from heaven. That is the reason for existence: not that men temporarily clap for us, but that our dealings are acknowledged as an eternal memorial in the courts of heaven.

Let’s not become people who chase after the applause of men. That is an exhausting enterprise with little gain. For what benefit is there if all men acknowledge and celebrate, you but God does not? That is real loss.

#sly