When Good Deeds Become a Performance
A reflection on Matthew 6:1-6 and the dangerous desire to be seen
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”
We’re shifting gears in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been speaking to the heart on issues like lust, adultery, lying, anger, and murder. We’d expect Jesus to address those things – they’re obvious sins that all people should abstain from, especially followers of Christ.
But now Jesus sets his sights on some practices we might not expect: giving, prayer, and fasting. These are good things. These are things we SHOULD be doing. So what’s the problem?
The problem is that the Pharisees had turned spiritual disciplines into spiritual theater. They were doing righteous deeds like spiritual showoffs, and Jesus wasn’t having it.
The Glory Hog Inside All of Us
Let’s be honest about one of the great challenges we face as Christians: navigating the desire to obey God and do righteous things while being careful of spiritual pride and self-righteousness. Whether bragging about our spiritual achievements or putting on a self-righteous image of perfection, we have a tendency to be glory hogs.
We love when people praise us. Whether it’s our parents, teachers, coaches, or church friends, we yearn for approval and praise. We’d never want to admit that publicly because it makes us look narcissistic, but that’s the reality of our flesh. It feels good when people prop us up and say, “Wow, look at you and all that you do.”
There’s an old story about a church that gave out a ribbon for humility. The person who received it wore it proudly… so they took it back.
That’s us. We want to be recognized for our humility. We want credit for our selflessness. We want praise for our spirituality.
The problem? God sees right through it.
The Big Idea That Should Scare Us
Here’s the sobering truth this passage teaches: Christian obedience done for attention or to show off is not rewarded by God and therefore should be worthless to us.
Paul makes this terrifyingly clear in 1 Corinthians 3: “Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
Paul is talking about building up all this worthless stuff because you did it for the wrong reason. This is extremely relevant today. It doesn’t matter how big your church is, how much you give, how long you pray – if it’s not done for the glory of Christ, it will be burnt up.
That may seem harsh, but it should make us take notice. When you and I get to heaven, those deeds done for the wrong reasons won’t be looked upon with approval. God will be indifferent to them.
If something won’t be rewarded by God – if He’s indifferent to it – it’s got to be worthless to you and me. Who cares about doing something if God doesn’t care about it?
The Warning: Be On Guard
“Beware” – there’s the warning right up front. This word means to be concerned about or on guard against something. It’s a forceful imperative. Jesus is saying you need to be vigilant against this. This is something that requires ongoing discipline.
Your thirst for praise won’t stop so long as you’re breathing and not in glory. That little inner monster that wants everything for itself will be alive. You’ll have to kill the flesh and die to this day after day.
There’s constant temptation to get approval, praise, attention, and glory for yourself. And Jesus is saying: watch out for it.
Good Things Done for Bad Reasons
The phrase “practicing your righteousness” refers to very good things. In this context: giving, prayer, and fasting. These are good things that obey God, healthy practices meant to bring us closer to Him.
Giving reminds us everything we have is from God and for God. We’re just stewards, managers, middlemen. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” When we’re faithful in giving, we see the world through God’s generosity.
Prayer is how we communicate with God, pour out our hearts, confess sin, and come humbly before Him. We experience His peace, wisdom, and kindness.
Fasting draws us closer to the Lord by going without to seek something spiritually. Instead of gratifying the flesh, we focus on spiritual things.
All these things are good. But the Pharisees had perverted these practices with impure motives.
Putting On a Show
The word “noticed” in the Greek is where we get our English word “theater.” It means to behold, to put on the movie and watch. The Pharisees were doing righteous deeds to put on a show. They wanted everybody looking: “Look how I give, look how I pray, look how I fast, look how spiritually put together I am.”
Remember the parable Jesus told? “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.’”
Their reward was the praise of men – that was their desire. They got exactly what they wanted. The Pharisees were insincere spiritual showoffs. They didn’t live out obedience because they loved God or wanted to bring Him glory. They wanted to display their supposed spiritual superiority and perfection.
Our Modern Versions
We have our own versions today, and they’re just as ugly.
The Recognition Seeker: People serve and want everybody to know it. If people don’t notice, recognize, or make a big deal about them, they stop serving or leave: “I don’t serve at that church anymore. Nobody ever said thank you. Nobody noticed all I do.”
The Name-Dropper: People give to get their name on stuff. They’ll give millions to get their name on a building but won’t give a cent without recognition.
The Social Media Saint: Every good deed gets documented and posted. Every ministry involvement becomes content. Every act of service requires a photo op. The goal isn’t to serve – it’s to be seen serving.
The Spiritual Performer: Leaders put on elaborate shows because they love to be worshiped. They’re tempted to present their perfection, their best side, because of insecurity and the desire to see people fawn over them.
Social media and the internet have fueled this desire like gasoline on a fire. All we see are people’s “best” and we feel the pressure to perform just like them.
But our goal is to be authentic, sincere, imperfect yet mature – godly, faithful, genuine, and devoted. We model following Jesus the right way while also showing we’re sometimes flailing, imperfect, finite, growing humans too.
The Pharisees were walking billboards for their own good deeds. We can’t afford to be the same.
The Devastating Result
Here’s the back half of verse 1: “otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”
Notice what God doesn’t do. He doesn’t seem to punish vindictively or aggressively. There’s this simple ignoring of the act. I picture God seeing the works and saying, “Next.”
It’s worse than a stinging rebuke – God is indifferent.
“But didn’t You notice, Lord? Didn’t You see all I did?” “Next.”
What worse judgment could there be than thinking you’re righteous and impressive to God when He’s completely indifferent to your works?
And this wasn’t a matter of not being “good” enough. The spiritual showoff is getting exactly what they wanted – God gave them their request. “Take the earthly, momentary praise from man if you prefer it. There’s something better, but if that’s what you want, have it.”
It’s your choice: the applause of men that fades by tomorrow, or the approval of God that lasts forever.
The Biblical Balance
Now, let’s address what might seem like a conflict. What about the fact that the Bible teaches our works should be on display? James says faith without works is dead – “Show me your faith.” Ephesians 2:10 says we’re created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them.
Be careful hearing what the text doesn’t say. The warning is about practicing these deeds with wrong motives, not practicing these deeds at all.
Look back at Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
You’re supposed to do good works so people can see them – you’re not hiding your light. But when people see them, they glorify your Father in heaven.
We are to be deflectors and reflectors. Praise coming toward us gets deflected and reflected toward God.
Think about a light. It doesn’t draw attention to itself – it illuminates what needs to be seen.
What do you do when someone says, “Great sermon,” or “Your voice is beautiful when you sing”? You deflect and reflect: “Praise God, I’m glad it helped,” “What joy to serve,” “Glory to God.”
It’s not hard unless you really want the praise for yourself.
Notice also that we don’t belittle ourselves. Talking down about yourself is not humility. God has bestowed gifts to His children – don’t trash what He has deemed a treasure.
Five Hard Truths We Need to Hear
1. Jesus Assumes We’re Actually Doing These Things
Notice that Jesus doesn’t begin by telling them these are things they should do. There’s the assumption that if you’re following the Lord, you will be doing the things He commanded.
Seems pretty obvious, right? But if we’re honest, we don’t always do the best job at this. Fasting is generally forgotten about entirely. Giving can turn into a feeling of obligation, not done cheerfully. Prayer turns into either a complaint line or 911.
If we claim to be followers of Christ, we need to be mindful of what He has called us to do and our motives behind them.
2. Forgetting the Giver Leads to Being Entitled About Our Gifts
The Pharisees used deeds meant for God and made them about themselves. That’s forgetfulness – forgetting these things are for God and thinking they’re all about us.
Every dollar you make, every square foot you own, every answered prayer isn’t really about you – it’s meant for God’s glory. He didn’t answer your prayer because you’re awesome; He answered because He’s awesome.
Paul asked the Corinthians: “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
Everything is a gift. Act like it.
3. Trading God’s Reward for Praise of Men Is Fool’s Gold
In the California Gold Rush, many miners thought they’d hit it big, only to discover they had pyrite – it looks like gold but is worthless. That’s works done for human praise. You get to heaven thinking you’ll impress God with your spiritual resume, but it’s all fool’s gold – you’re found penniless.
4. Even in Our Greatest Successes, We Are Unworthy Servants
Jesus said: “In this way, you also, when you do all the things which are commanded of you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
Even when you’ve done what you think are the greatest things, you’ve done only what you ought to have done. Your biggest gifts to God are only what you ought to have done.
We’re unworthy of such titles: servant, son, daughter, redeemed. The gospel reminds us we’re unworthy, so He gets the credit and glory.
5. If You’re Living for God’s Glory, Human Praise Is Never Enough
The Jews were spiritual showoffs because they didn’t have their eyes on the Messiah – they had their eyes on themselves. When you get human praise, you’re still empty because it’s never enough.
You weren’t designed to be satisfied by that – you were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit to be satisfied by Christ alone.
The God Who Sees Everything
Here’s what we need to remember: God sees everything. Hebrews 4:13 tells us “No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
That’s good news for those wondering if He sees you – yes, He does. He sees your faithfulness when nobody else notices. He sees your sacrifice when nobody applauds. He sees your obedience when nobody thanks you.
But He also sees your motive. And that’s convicting.
He sees when you post that Bible verse on social media because you genuinely want to encourage others – or because you want people to think you’re spiritual.
He sees when you serve at church because you love Him – or because you want recognition.
He sees when you give because you’re grateful – or because you want your name on something.
You can fool people. You can’t fool God.
How to Avoid the Showoff Trap
So how do we avoid becoming spiritual showoffs? Here’s the practical pathway:
Live for heaven, not earth. Do righteous deeds for God’s glory. When your eyes are fixed on eternal rewards, temporary applause loses its appeal.
Practice the art of deflection. When praise comes, immediately redirect it to God. Make this a reflex, not an afterthought.
Cultivate humility through remembering the gospel. You were saved by grace, not works. Every good thing you do is only possible because of what Christ did. That keeps you grounded.
Check your motives regularly. Ask yourself: “Would I still do this if nobody ever knew? Would I still serve if I never got thanked? Would I still give if my name wasn’t attached?”
Remember you’re just the paintbrush. Who makes a big deal about the paintbrush? It’s about the masterpiece and the Artist.
The Mercy We All Need
If you’re weak in this struggle – and we all are – Hebrews 4:14-16 reminds us we have a great High Priest who sympathizes. Jesus was tempted with glory, power, position, dominion, and majesty unto Himself instead of the Father. What did He do? He rejected all of it.
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
We all need mercy and grace in this area. For some, it’s time to start doing these righteous deeds altogether. For others, it’s time to assess why we do what we do.
Are you doing good things to be seen, or are you doing them for the One who sees everything?
The difference might not be visible to others, but it makes all the difference to God. And ultimately, He’s the only audience that matters.
What good deeds are you doing to be noticed by others? What would change if you truly internalized that God sees everything – including your motives? What recognition are you chasing that needs to be surrendered? Remember: better to have God’s indifferent “next” now while you can repent, than to hear it on the day when your works are tested by fire.