Be careful not to announce how “zealous” you think are, or how “righteous” you believe yourself to be or what ”kind” deeds you have done for others, and be especially careful not to do these things merely to build up your own reputation. If you do, you will have no reward from YHWH in heaven. So, whenever you do an act of kindness, don't announce it. Why would a righteous man care about winning human praise? These things are what the hypocrites do in their homes, on their streets, and via the internet. But what I am telling you is that they have their reward already! There reward comes in the form of their own boosted opinion of them self, their own shallow reputation. In fact, that is what they truly care about anyway, and that is why they make their deeds known in the first place.
But you, when you do something nice, or some kind deed, stay humble. In fact not only should you not brag to others about what you have done, but don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. In other words, be humble and refuse to think even the slightest bit highly of yourself! Then your kind deeds and righteous actions will be done from a true and righteous heart. And your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will rightly reward you. For your Father knows your heart, and He sees whether your actions are done out of concern for building up your own reputation or from an honest and righteous motive. Yes, and He will reward each of us according to truth!
So when you speak to someone, or pray or even when you sing your songs, don't be like the hypocrites, who love to do these things in ways that feed their own egos. They post it on the internet, or broadcast it through various means so that people will praise them. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! Their own ego is their reward and their reward will not last long. But you, when you are talking to someone, or when you pray or sing or do any of these various things, keep it private, between you and the one you are speaking too. If you are praying, go into a private room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you accordingly because He judges your heart and He knows whether you are sincere or if you are feeding your own egotistical reputation. And remember to be honest when you pray, because your Father knows what you have done and what you need even before you ask him.
Friends, Father is fair in all things. So if you will forgive others for what they have done wrong to you, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others when they wrong you, your heavenly Father will not forgive your wrongs either because Father is Just and Fair in all things.
Now when you give a gift or fast or do things such as these, don't go around telling others, or boasting, or looking hungry, or trying to bring attention to yourself in anyway at all! Such actions prove that your intent is self motivated and hypocritical! It is a self-centered person that does this type of thing, and he does it so that people will call him “righteous”. Yes! I tell you, YHWH looks at the heart, and such people as these have already received the only reward they will ever get!
But you, when you fast, wash up, put a humble smile on your face and be sincerely thankful for all that YHWH has provided. And be especially careful to realize that YHWH is everything and mere humanity is nothing! Be sure that you keep your heart humble and righteous, not just from a human standpoint, but according to Father’s perspective. For He is Righteous and His opinion is the only opinion that truly matters. And don’t let other’s know that you are fasting. Nobody needs to know except your Father, and He is with you in secret. Your Father sees everything that is done in secret and He will reward you according to how honest your desire to do right truly is!
Do not worry about how much “stuff” you have or even desire to have such nonsense! Don’t you know that every car will end up a heap of rust in a junk yard and every house will eventually become pile of rubble? Every shirt, blouse, skirt and pair of shoes will one day be at the local Salvation Army and soon after that, it will be a rag in a landfill. Leave these materialistic things to the people of this world. Let the righteous collect righteousness!
You see, whatever you desire is obviously what you value! And whatever you value, proves where your heart truly is! Does a coin collector collect dolls? Or does a sports fanatic spend his time watching soap operas? No! He spends his time watching sports. In just the same way, anyone who loves the Father spends His time seeking to learn about and emulate the Father! So if you desire to be “righteous”, then spend your time learning what righteousness is And as you learn what righteousness is, put it into practice!
Your heart controls your whole body. So if you have “righteous motives” within your heart, all of your actions will be righteous also, because you will truly be seeking honest righteousness. But if you have a “self-centered heart” everything you do will put out an aura of arrogance and pride. And when someone is deceived into believing that their “self-centered” heart is somehow “righteous”, how incredibly delusioned that person is!
Again:
No one can be a slave to two masters. He will either hate the first and love the second, or love the first and hate the second. You cannot be loyal to two opposites. In other words, no one can be a slave to both Righteousness and evil.
My friends, we know that of ourselves, and without YHWH there is nothing righteous within us. So what I am saying is that there is no person in all the world that can serve both YHWH and himself!
Here is what it boils down to: Trust in YHWH!
Trust in Him like Abraham trusted. Abraham did not fret or question Father YHWH when commanded to offer his own beloved son as a sacrifice! No! He humbly trusted and obeyed! He counted on YHWH, honestly believing and understanding that YHWH was in complete control! And what about Noah? Did he question the Father as to why he was to build a boat in the middle of a scorching desert where there had never been rain before? No. He humbly submitted to YHWH’s every desire. He obeyed the Torah given to him and did not doubt or grumble in any way. So you to, if you are truly a child of the Most High YHWH, trust in Him in the same way.
Don't worry about any aspect of your own life. Just trust in Father! Do not worry about what you will eat or drink; or what you will wear, or anything at all. Isn't life more than food and clothing? Look at the birds flying around! They don’t plant or harvest. You will not find them gathering food into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you think that your Father loves you even more then them? So just trust Him! After all, doesn’t a child trust whatever a father tells him? Yes, whatever the parent tells his toddler, the toddler always trusts. So you too, have the faith of a little child. Trust in your Father if He truly is your Father. In fact, as a child, this is your complete duty to your Father, so honor Him! Besides, can anyone add a single second to his own life? No, neither by his own plans or by worrying? And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild flowers, and how they grow. They don’t spend time spinning thread or worrying about what to wear. And yet not even the wisest king or the most famous fashion designers in all the world are clothed as beautiful as these gorgeous flowers! In fact these very same fashion designers fashion their own clothing with images of these beautiful wild flowers! Now if this is how Father YHWH clothes wild flowers, which are here today and gone tomorrow, won't He clothe you even more beautifully if you would only trust in Him? But what little trust we humans have!
So in conclusion:
Trust in YHWH with all your heart and don’t rely on your own understanding.
It is the untrusting ones that say `What will we eat?,' `What will we drink?' or `How will we be clothed?' And it is the unrighteous ones that set their hearts on all these materialistic things as well. But you, you know very well that Your heavenly Father knows every hair on your head. So don’t waste your time on such nonsense! Instead humbly search out His Righteousness, and when you find it, put it into practice! Then He will reward you with all these things as well. So my friends, let us not worry about tomorrow. We will worry about tomorrow when tomorrow gets here. But right now today is here. So today let's strive to humbly search out YHWH’s Righteousness and to put it into practice! That is our whole duty for all of today!
Shalom.
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