The World Is Not a Stage

FRIDAY DEVOTIONAL 04192013  SCRIPTURES: Matthew 6:1-4 (The Message) The World Is Not a Stage 6 “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. 2-4 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.”   RECIPE FOR GOOD WORKS Sixty years ago I was in the Boy Scouts. We were challenged to do one good deed a day. In quest for that merit badge I would each day seek to do a good deed. This was purely a selfish motive on my part. When I received Christ as my Savior there was a shift. I no longer served self as a master but began to see others through the eyes of Jesus.  A Christian that is filled with God will be led to compassion for others. This desire will lead us to do good works. In the scripture for today we find a recipe for good works.   •             Don’t do good works to bring recognition to yourself. •             Don’t do good works only when others can see you. •             Don’t be a play actor performing as a stage performance. •             Don’t think about how good works makes you look to others. •             Your motto will be, “Just do it—Quietly and Unobtrusively”.   Key Statement: “That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.” (verse 4b)   Prayer Thought: “Let others see Jesus in me.”