In 1 Samuel 19, Saul continues to be jealous of David. So much so that he tells his son, Jonathan, and some others to kill David. Jonathan confronts his father and Saul promises him David will not be put to death. A few verses later, “Saul tried to pin [David] to the wall with his spear…” That promise didn’t last long, huh?
In Matthew 6:1, Jesus said, “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Then Jesus, gives three examples of “acts of righteousness”: giving to the needy, prayer and fasting. He says to do these things in secret and “your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
Psalm 67: 1 says, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us…” That’s not the full thought though. Verse 2 continues, “that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.”
So what do these three passages have to do with each other? I think it’s the heart. Saul’s heart was bad. Had been for a long time. His jealousy of David consumed his heart and kept him from the Father’s heart.
It’s also easy to want to do our “acts of righteousness” to be seen by others. An encouraging word to someone, an act of service, a gift of money–each one can be done to draw attention to ourselves to make us look good before men. It’s an indication our motives are wrong and our hearts are far from Him. Jesus called those people “hypocrites.”
There’s nothing wrong with asking God to bless us…unless we stop after verse 1. God blesses us to make us blessings to others, to make His ways known on earth, so that “all the ends of the earth will fear Him” (Psalm 67:7), not so we could be comfortable while others are in need.
The battleground is my mind, but the real prize is my heart. I’m finding that I must be diligent to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. Often, I fail at this and allow wrong thoughts to take root. It can happen quickly, too. I’m not talking about days or weeks, I’m talking about minutes and hours.
A wrong thought can be powerful and can take root quickly. From there, it looks to invade my heart and create wrong desires and motives. Jealousy takes over. Acts of righteousness are done for the wrong audience. Blessing is sought to make me comfortable rather than to bless others.
The enemy wants to turn my heart from God and fill me with jealousy, impure motives and a self-centered view of life. My only hope is to continually seek the heart and mind of God and to rest in His goodness and provision, knowing that His heart is to reward me and bless me, so that He is known and His kingdom is advanced.