Jesus teaches us what righteousness looks like in his kingdom. In a culture that centers so much of what we do on being seen, these words should be striking to us. Our cultural currency is likes and shares. It is easy for these concepts to spill into our pursuit of the way of Jesus, trading a deep intimacy with God and a desire to serve others for a cheap religiosity that is done for the sake of getting others to celebrate us.

Jesus looks at a few different practices, generosity, prayer, and fasting, to highlight a truth for us. All of these practices can be misused and falsely directed. All three of these practices can easily create an environment to draw attention to oneself in such a way that compels us to want the praise of people.