Internet Faith
Matthew 6:
1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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16“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
I wonder if the ‘hypocrites’ mentioned in these verses had access to the internet, blogging and Twitter how would they be using it? And would these verses be appropriate for them still?
What are your thoughts?
Scripture never said all the hypocrites died when Christ left the earth to sit on His throne. So yes they have access and yes they use it. It is not a question for us to debate who they are and how they would use it. Rather it is a matter of wisdom for us to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us through all we do and read so that we are not led astray by wrong teaching. We are not responsible for what someone else might use the internet for, but only what we would do with it, and what we would do with the information we gather from it. So we must be constantly asking the Lord to guide us, and the Holy spirit to help us separate that which is good for our building up and that which is not just as in everything in our lives.
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i agree with kelly’s points. well-spoken and simple.
it’s interesting to note that, while the motives of these hypocrites were absolutely wicked, they were doing ‘good’ things. ‘right’ things. that causes me to pause and consider something.
those verses in matthew are a reminder to me that God really cares about HOW i do things. He cares about the means just as much as the end.
He doesn’t want me doing ‘right’ things if i do them the wrong way.
more than ever, i think, we’re prone to ignore the way we behave or present ourselves because we’re convinced we’re doing a ‘good’ or ‘right’ thing. the internet has made this type of behavior easy and even expected. i say what i want, how i want, and frankly, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
i mean…all the time we’re hearing the phrases, “i’m just telling it like it is,” and “i’m just being real,” when most of the time those end up simply being licenses to offend, slander or bite whoever we happen to be targeting at the moment. we convince ourselves that we’re ‘right’ and that counteracts anything else we might be asked to do by the Lord…like speak well of others or go the extra mile or not gossip.
Jesus had to have some pretty serious talks with people when He was on the earth, but He always acted with grace and mercy.
always.
and now He has placed His Spirit in my life so that i might act and behave and speak (and type) with the same grace. the same mercy.
i need more grace. and patience. and mercy in my life, and certainly in my e-life.
and i need to stop thinking more highly of myself than i should (Romans 12).
that’s what will help me do the right things the right way.
and then i won’t fall into the trap of hypocrisy that these Matthew 6 folks did.
I don’t think there’s anything unique or different about the internet versus any other form of human interaction.
Everywhere there are professing believers, whether in a real or virtual place, there are people putting on their “good Christian front” to be seen by others. There are many different reasons for this, including the fact that Christian culture has created certain expectations that most people can’t really live up to.
Regardless of the reason, what they all have in common is that God always knows the heart, and the praises of men are worthless in the end.
As previous comments have said, it comes down to intent, or who you are serving by making a “religious” post to Twitter or your blog or whatever. Are you serving yourself, by making yourself look good, or by being controversial to get attention? Or are you posting things where and when the Spirit is leading you?
Those verses are always a great reminder to me to take a look at my intentions. Being human and all, I can guarantee my intentions for doing things in life haven’t always been correct.
As people have stated, the same rules apply. Twitter, blogging or whatever social tool you are using should not be done so to boast about yourself. Would the hypocrites from the verses use twitter to boast? Absolutely! It is already being done. I think we simply need to look at what we are saying and why we are saying it, and keep in mind that there are some things that don’t need to be said.
@Kyle Ray – you said it.
I just love the fact that you were able to find a picture of a computer that was around back in the days of those scriptures.
Well said, Kyle Ray.
I’ve never found one piece of Scripture to show how it is irrelevant to any time period; and so what was relevant to them is also relevant to us. Thus, the use of electronics should be to enhance the spread of the Gospel — considering that the Gospel will be preached until Jesus returns.
Mark 13:35-37 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ “
I think the key phrases here are…
“to be seen by them”
and
“to be honored by men”
and
“to be seen by men”
and
“to show men they are fasting”
and
“so that it will not be obvious to men”
An action isn’t being outlawed here; a motivation is. And we can never know another person’s motivations.
Another key word here is “hypocrite.” It literally means “actor.” Someone who pretends to be one thing but is actually something else – someone who pretends to be devout, pious, God-focussed in with their actions when they are in fact the opposite: craving the attention of man more than service to God.
Paul listed his good deeds for the skeptical culture listening to him, to spur some to belief and others to good deeds to inspire them to action. Public piety has its place…as long as our heart is in the right place too.