Talk Together
Family conversations with God’s Word.
What is something impossible for you to do no matter how hard you try? One thing impossible for everyone to do is to be perfect. But every day the world around us tells us that if we look or act a certain way we will be perfect. We are also told that if we do a lot of good things for people we will be good enough.
This isn’t a new problem. The Bible tells us Jesus saw people around Him trying to be perfect. Pharisees and religious teachers at the time taught people to follow traditions and extra rules. People believed doing these things would make them holy and perfect.
What do you think Jesus had to say about these people? Let’s read what He said from the Bible. Can you help me find Matthew, chapter 6, verses 1-4? The book of Matthew is in the New Testament.
ESV
“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.”
The Pharisees wanted to be seen. They spent their time making a big show of what they did and how much they gave to the poor. They thought what they did made them perfect and proved how righteous they were. But really they were thinking more about themselves than about God. They wanted to be noticed and praised.
Jesus wants us to understand that if we do what we do because we love God, then who sees us doing it shouldn’t matter. When we make doing things for God more important than being seen by others, we are becoming more like Jesus.
Wanting to be seen wasn’t the Pharisees’ only problem. They were trying to be perfect on their own. But because of sin, they could never be perfect.
What are ways people still try to be perfect?
Some people try to be seen serving as much as they can in their church or community. Other people read their Bible a lot and make sure friends and family know. Maybe you know people who brag about how much they help the poor or needy.
These things aren’t bad; in fact, they are great things that we should all do! But when we are doing things to make ourselves look perfect and because of the praise we get, we are missing the mark.
What do you do to be noticed by others? Do you do the things you do to look perfect or because you love God and want to be like Him?
We can never be perfect on our own. In fact, we will never be perfect until we are in heaven. But there is good news! God loves us! He wants a relationship with us and will help us grow to become more and more like Him every day.