The Sermon On The Mount (3)
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Welcome… Introduction...
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"Humblebrag"
a statement in which you pretend to be modest but which you are really using as a way of telling people about your success or achievements.
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Credit:
Pro Bono Jesus
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5 Keys to a successful humblebrag
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(1) Throw in a “to God be the glory” at the end of the post. This is a time-honored Christian tradition and instantly brings a dose of humility to nearly every brag.
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At first, it almost sounded like that person was bragging about their new house. Wrong. To God be the glory.
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(2) Add #blessed. To a large degree, this is a modernization of Suggestion 1. The beauty about #blessed is it doesn’t make you sound too Christiany. Therefore, #blessed may appeal to a wider audience, further showcasing your humility. This could be huge for your humility-cred.
Let’s say you just received a promotion at work, and you’ve now reached a financial milestone. You want to let as many people know as you can (i.e. brag), but you don’t want to sound like you’re bragging. That’s where #blessed comes in.
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(3) Use your children as a bragging buffer. Using a picture of your child is a great way to brag while pretending like it’s all about the child. For instance, you just ran a marathon, and you need to humbly inform all of your lesser-achieving friends. So, after the race, take a picture of yourself and your child, and put the medal around your child’s neck with the caption:
[SLIDE] (Parker loved putting on my medal after my marathon. #blessed #futurerunner
Bragging about your children is an ideal way to subtly brag about yourself. Here’s another tried and true example: You’ve always instilled a love for reading in your child, and you would love for your 800-900 “friends” to see how many more books your 5 year-old child read than theirs. You know it would sound conceited to simply say, “look how successful my parenting has been,” so you should take a picture of your child reading with a strategically placed stack of books next to her. Caption it with something like:
[SLIDE] (My little 5-year-old reader (Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics))
The age part is crucial, because we all know there are many 5 year-olds who can’t read. Yours can, and people need to know! Bonus points if your child is reading the Jesus Story Book Bible.
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(4) Pretend like you’re trying to motivate others. This is a brilliant tactical solution to cover up an overt brag. Here’s how this one works: you’ve just started CrossFit (and who hasn’t?), and you’re eating Paleo (it’s not a diet!). It would be an absolute tragedy not to share your new lifestyle with your closest 2100 friends. Instead of simply saying, “I look awesome, check out my amazing body,” try something like this:
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(5) Use a Bible verse. Now that the Bible is so accessible online, you hardly even have to try to find an appropriate verse to prop up your successes. Did your child just win Student of the Month? Try this one:
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“It’s really hard being a funny pastor because you never know if people are laughing at you or at your jokes.”
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
A KEY Theme:
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
This verse summarizes what Jesus says in his next 3 examples: giving, prayer, fasting
This ties back to Matthew 5:3 and really one of the key themes of the entire Sermon On The Mount.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We come to God with nothing
The Pharisees thought their righteousness made them rich before God, but Jesus showed over and over that the Pharisees’ righteousness falls infinitely short of God’s righteous standard.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
The reality is that God is rich and we are poor
To see the fullness of the of the glory of God would kill a man.
To flaunt some measly righteousness of our own as if we’ve got it all together is a great offense to a righteous and holy God.
And yet, this is exactly what the Pharisees were doing and what we are tempted to do ourselves.
I am tempted to share in God’s glory...
And it ought not be so...
Giving
Giving
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Practice and Reward of False Giving
A hupokritēs (hypocrite) originally was a Greek actor who wore a mask that portrayed in an exaggerated way the role that was being dramatized. For obvious reasons the term came to be used of anyone who pretended to be what he was not.
True generosity flows out of the generosity we receive from God.
It’s love for others that overflows from the love God has for us.
Generosity for the sake of appeasing your own conscious or to make yourself look good is hypocritical because it’s puffed up to be something that it is not.
The Bible says you have received your reward...
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Don’t let your right hand know...
2 implications have been drawn form this
1 Natural, free flowing
2 Secret
I believe the “secret” is more about heart condition than actually keeping everything secret
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Reward you...
The reward is God himself
We prepare ourselves to various extents in this life to receive the weight of that reward
Praying
Praying
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Again, this is a shot directly at the heart.
This is is not a condemnation of all public prayer, rather a heart check...
Matthew: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The True Audience: God
The basic definition of prayer is “communion with God,” and if He is not involved there is only the pretense of prayer. Not only must He be involved, but centrally involved.
The reward...
Again, the reward is God himself...
Fasting
Fasting
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
I believe the primary purpose of fasting is to create a hunger inside of you to remind you of your hunger and longing for God.
When you fast in such a way that makes you look good, that’s all you get.
Your reward...
Again, it’s God
Some of the Scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus’ disciples eating without washing their hands. This made the Pharisees upset and Jesus confronted them with this...
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Jesus taught that we are evil all the way to the core.
This flies directly in the face of what culture teaches us. (that people are good at heart).