What does this mean? Why does Jesus tell us to not do this? What kinds of things should chrstians not do..like praying in public? Because many of us do this in some ways where we ARE seen by others, like sometimes in schools. . Does this mean we shouldnt do it, or does it mean something else?
Matthew 6:1
This applies to more than just our prayers. If we practice righteousness to be seen by others, then it isn't really practicing righteousness, is it? It is practicing hypocrisy, which is what the Pharisees did. They tried to look righteous and appear religious on the outside to impress people, but inside they were full of wickedness. What they had was self-righteousness, not God's/Jesus' righteousness being lived out through their lives. If we go around promoting ourselves, trying to impress others with our spirituality or with our biblical knowledge, but it is only for show, all the while inside we are living wickedly, then that is hypocrisy, whether it is in our prayers, our worship, our preaching, or just our every day living. Yet, we must be careful here that we don't go around judging other people's motives without knowledge, for we could be very wrong about why people do what they do.
