Righteousness

Matthew 6:1-4 - Do not flaunt your righteousness. If you do, your reward will be the approval of men. But hide your righteousness even from yourself. Then your reward will be from your Father in heaven.

The approval of people here on earth is always nice. We all want approval; in fact, we need a certain amount in order to thrive. Love and friendship are not luxuries for human beings. It is only when this need becomes excessive that we have problems. When we feel as though everyone needs to approve of our actions. When we act so that we can receive the approval of others, our reward ends there.

Ultimately, though, this reward cannot satisfy. It is both fleeting and short-lived. One must constantly be acting and doing new things. One can never rest when one's life is about the approval of others. And, there will come a time when that approval is withdrawn. That person will be left alone, not even knowing who they are because they have never thought about it. Of course, in that case, there is nowhere to go but up!

But what about the reward "from your Father who is in heaven?" What is that reward? Eternal life? I guess some would say so. But that doesn't sit right with me. I would prefer to think about it in terms of life here and now. I think the reward is love. Not love from others, but rather love for others. When our motivation is to do the right thing because it is the right thing - we increase our love of others. When we train ourselves to do the right thing and then forget about it - going on with our lives as usual - we increase our love for others. Receiving love from others is nice, but it is often conditional. Increasing our love for others connects us to God's love for others - and God's love for us. This love is unconditional. The more we live in this love of God and others, the more love we will be able to feel and share.

We might even be able to begin to love our enemies!
B