Last week at church, they talked about the sermon on the mount, which is part of the book of Matthew in the Bible.

I once had to memorize the Beattitudes in 8th grade, which are also part of the Sermon on the mount. 

The most powerful message from the sermon (I think) is about the way that you should act when you’re doing good things like helping the needy, praying, and fasting. 

Basically, it tells you to do these things in a non-show-off way, more or less to keep them a secret. God does not want us to be rewarded by our peers on earth because he will reward us in heaven.

This is really easy to understand but much harder to put into practice. I tried to do it this week and it was hard to be doing good deeds and not tell anyone about it. That got me thinking about why that is. 

In my everyday life, I see people who I admire. I think very highly of them for their kindness and caring. Naturally, I’d like to be the kind of person who is kind and caring so I try to emulate those people that I admire. It’s HARD to not then want to be admired (or even feel entitled to be admired) the same way that I admire others. Without the Bible to guide us, we might think that seeking admiration is fine. 

Even though the Bible gives us a pretty clear guide, it was a challenge to do this week. I don’t think I did as well as I would have liked to and I count talking about it on here as some sort of seeking earthly rewards. It is a beautiful sentiment that your rewards are stored in heaven for you.

I’m hoping tomorrow at church they do the next part of the sermon on the mount because I really need to stop worrying so much. 🙂

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[n]?