Instruction in praying and alms-giving.
"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men," said Jesus, "to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.
"And when thou prayest," said Jesus further, "thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
"Moreover," continued Jesus, touching the third conventional form of worship, "when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."
The real value of worship.
Now, it is not necessary to think that these sayings of Jesus are to be taken literally. It is not absolutely necessary that, in order to pray in secret, one should retire to his chamber and shut the door, then pray; nor is it absolutely necessary that, in fasting, one should anoint one's head and wash one's face. Jesus used these figures merely to portray a condition opposite to that assumed by the hypocrites. But Jesus wanted to teach that the value of worship depends upon the motive that inspires it. If one gives alms to be seen of men and to be praised therefore, one's reward lies there in the praise one receives. God will bestow no other favor. Likewise, those who pray and fast to be praised of men, get their reward in the worldly praise they receive. They have not found God. They are not in real, vital touch with Him. Worldly ambitions have come between them and Him. In gaining the life of this world they have lost life eternal. They have yielded to the temptation of mere ostentation and display. And this spirit has entered unfortunately, into the service of many churches. "Obviously," says a noted student of the Bible, "many of the elaborate forms and ceremonies which have developed in connection with the worship of the Christian Church are contrary to His (Jesus's) spirit and teachings. Only in so far as they lead the individual into closer personal touch with God are they justifiable or of real value."
Humility and sincerity.
What then is the right attitude in worship? God Himself has declared, you remember, that those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. The motive of worship is of more importance than the form. The value of worship lies in humility, in laying aside all worldly ambitions, in approaching close to God for the sole purpose of communing with Him. It is better to lose one's worldly life in the service of God, than to gain that worldly life and fail to find God; for he who thus loses the worldly life, shall find life eternal.
"I give unto you these sayings," said Jesus once to Joseph the Prophet, "that ye may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of His fulness; for if you keep my commandments you shall receive of His fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace."