Kingdom Living - The Commands of Christنموونە

Commands of Christ: 20 

Take care not to do your righteous deeds in order to receive glory from men. 

The Lord wants us to do righteous deeds, but he is equally concerned that we do them with the right motive. The right motive is that the glory and honor go to Him. Giving to others, prayer, and fasting are all wonderful things, but only if they are done to please and glorify God and not to benefit us or build up our own reputation. The same thing can be said for all sorts of “good deeds” and ministry. In the very next chapter, Jesus makes it clear that there will be plenty of people prophesying and casting out demons and doing miracles in His name whom He does not know or recognize. The heart is deceitful and wicked. We would do well to watch our motives in all we do, including all we are purportedly doing for the Lord.