It’s all for you,
or is it perhaps
more about me?
Do I want everyone to see
what a good person I am,
how selfless
and generous.
Do I do it
to splash across social media,
hope it makes the news,
that I can be somebody?
Do I want everyone to think
that I am better
than I know I am?
Kinder,
more caring,
more devout?
Do I want to believe that about myself,
to feel better about how I live
and what I do?
But it should be for you alone.
To help you
improve your lot.
For you God,
to act how you want me to.
May I find my generosity,
my value,
my worth
in my relationship with you
ongoing,
gentle,
faithful
and not in grand gestures
that don’t last
or carry on
Forgive me Lord
for the times
I’ve made it about me.
how I look.
the show I can put on
and not about you,
serving you,
loving you,
living how you would.
This lent
let it just be about me and you
our relationship
what I offer to you
alone,
with no fanfares,
just my love
and worship of you
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (GNT)
Teaching about Charity
6 “Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 3 But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it. 4 Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.
Teaching about Prayer
5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 6 But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.
Teaching about Fasting
16 “And when you fast, do not put on a sad face as the hypocrites do. They neglect their appearance so that everyone will see that they are fasting. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 17 When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, 18 so that others cannot know that you are fasting—only your Father, who is unseen, will know. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.
Riches in Heaven
19 “Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. 20 Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. 21 For your heart will always be where your riches are.
Good News Translation (GNT)Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society
