阅读经文 

我们喜欢因做正确的事情而被人认可。有时我们会做一些对配偶有益的事，但往往是为得到回报。或者我们可能为一个有价值的事工捐款，或赞扬某人的工作，但随后我们也会告诉其他人，让他们知道我们所做的事。有时，当某些人在身边旁观时，我们也可能会付出额外的努力，只因为我们希望获得他们的好感。

这是在耶稣所教导的地区存在的一个泛滥的问题。法利赛人和其他宗教领袖经常展示他们的“义”，以引起注意的方式向穷人施舍，或者吹嘘他们对法律的顺从。这种行为可能会引起别人的赞扬或注意，但耶稣看到了它的本质。虽然这些人看起来很接近神，但他们的动机是自私的，他们的心实际上已经远离了神。

让我们省察一下自己的行为，想想我们所做的事，其中有多少次是为了得到别人的注意或赞美。耶稣晓得，在别人的认可中寻找我们的自我价值是多么诱人。在这段经文中，祂挑战我们通过保持低调来对抗这种诱惑，并尽可能秘密地行善和慷慨解囊。

We like to be recognized for doing the right thing. Sometimes we do something nice for our spouse, but often it’s because we expect a favor in return. Or we might give money for a worthy cause or praise someone for their work, but then we also tell others so that they will know about it. Sometimes we might also put in an extra effort when certain people are around because we want them to think well of us.

This was a rampant problem in the community where Jesus was teaching. The Pharisees and other religious leaders often made a show of their “righteousness,” giving to the poor in visible ways or bragging about their obedience to the law. Such behavior might draw praise or attention from others, but Jesus saw it for what it was. Although these people appeared to be close to God, their motives were selfish, and their hearts were actually far away from him.

Let’s pay attention to our actions and think about how often we do things to get the attention or praise of others. Jesus knows how tempting it is to find our worth in the approval of other people. In this passage he challenges us to fight that temptation by keeping a low profile, and to do acts of kindness and generosity in secret as much as possible.