What Is Our Motivation

What is our motivation? That is an important question to ask as it relates to our spiritual life and religious practices. It is also the question that Jesus poses to the disciples in this Gospel passage. As he admonishes them not to make a spectacle of their alms-giving, prayer, and fasting, what he is ultimately getting at is their motivation for engaging in such practices. Do they do these things to win the esteem of men, or do they do them out of a deep love for God?

What Is Our Motivation

Gospel - Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Take care not to perform righteous deeds

in order that people may see them;

otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.

When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you,

as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets

to win the praise of others.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you give alms,

do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,

so that your almsgiving may be secret.

And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,

who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners

so that others may see them.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,

and pray to your Father in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.

They neglect their appearance,

so that they may appear to others to be fasting.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,

except to your Father who is hidden.

And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

Scriptural Analysis

Jesus is in the middle of his Sermon on the Mount. Chapter six in Matthew’s Gospel marks a shift in focus to the theme of religious practice and material possessions. Jesus instructs his disciples on the proper way to observe religious practices, as well as the appropriate relationship one should have with material goods. The opening verse of the chapter serves as a sort of introduction to the rest of the Gospel. He is going to discuss the three pillars of Jewish piety — almsgiving, prayer, and fasting — and he assumes that his disciples engage in these practices. He warns that these practices are not to be done to win the esteem of men, and if they are, then there is no reward in heaven associated with them.

Giving alms, or gifts to the poor, was an important part of Jewish religious responsibility (Deuteronomy 15:11). Jesus warns that those who give alms should not make a public display of their generosity. In other words, the goal should not be to draw attention to oneself. Jesus calls those who do seek attention hypocrites. The Greek word translated as hypocrite, hhypokritē, can be literally translated as actor or pretender. It is used to describe someone who tries to portray themselves as someone they are not. In essence, when the hypocrite gives alms, they are not really giving to the poor, but instead they are paying for the praise of men. Thus, they have received their reward and will not receive anything from God.

When it comes to prayer, Jesus warns the disciples not to act like the hypocrites who love to pray in the synagogue and on street corners. Note, Jesus is not criticizing standing to pray or even public prayer. Both of these are common in Catholic liturgical practices today and are fine. Instead, Jesus is getting at motivation. The hypocrites are not praying because they love God, but rather are praying because they want to be seen by others and win esteem. Thus, they will not receive a reward. Additionally, Jesus employs hyperbole when he instructs the disciples to go into a private room and pray. If one comes out of the room and brags about how much they pray, they are just as guilty.

Jesus finally addresses the practice of fasting. It was the practice of some, when they fasted, to neglect their appearance. They wanted to appear gloomy so that others would know they were fasting. Again, Jesus refers to these people as hypocrites. He then instructs the disciples to maintain their appearance. In first-century Palestine, before going out, people would often change their clothing and wash their skin with oil, especially the head. Thus, even if they were fasting, you would not be aware of it. The Father in heaven will reward those who fast for the right reasons. (Isa 61:3)

Daily Application

Much of the spiritual life involves actions on our part. Praying, fasting, almsgiving, and even worship require us to take action. And when we do something that externally manifests itself, we always run the risk of the world noticing. With that notice can also come accolades or praise from people. It can also cause us to look upon other people who don’t do what we do (at least not in a way that we notice) and think we are better than they are. All of these practices become a source of pride for us, and so we continue them out of that pride.

When we do this, we lose sight of the true reason for doing all these things. All of these practices are undertaken out of a deep and abiding love for God. For any of these actions to be fruitful, they must be done for the right reason. We must do them because we love God and desire to serve Him and draw closer to Him.

Of course, this can be hard. In our fallen nature, we tend to crave recognition from our peers. We want praise, and we like feeling like we are not the worst performer on the team. However, we must fight these feelings and not allow them to consume our hearts. In those times when we perhaps begin to feel a bit self-righteous, we would do well to turn to our blessed Mother and ask for her intercession. If ever there was a human who would have been justified in thinking they were better, it would have been her. Yet she did not. She remained humbled and focused on God out of love for him.

We would do well to imitate our blessed mother. We would do well to try to understand what motivated her to offer her life in service to God. We all want to think we are engaged in prayer, fasting, alms-giving, and other religious practices for the right reason. Today offers us the perfect opportunity to spend time in prayer, examining our hearts, and asking ourselves, ‘What is our motivation?’