Obstacles on the way to good character
Series: Metamorphosis | Bible text: Matthew 6:5–8
The middle of the Sermon on the Mount is about prayer. Prayer is also the key to transforming a person into the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus mentions two obstacles on the way to good character: hypocrisy and pious performances. If we fall prey to these, our character will be corrupted. From the father-child relationship with God comes liberation and transformation.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle taught that whoever wants to cultivate his character must have a goal. Then it is necessary to train the virtues that lead to this goal. The virtues must be practised until they become internalised habits. The Sermon on the Mount shows us the biblical path to good character according to the example of Jesus. But where, according to the Greek model, the practice of virtues comes, in the Sermon on the Mount follows the middle, chapter 6, which is about prayer. The key to our transformation lies in prayer. That is why Paul uses in our annual verse «Let your being be transformed!» the passive. In the end, it is about listening well to God’s music in order to be able to dance to it. In chapter 6 we are shown two alternatives to dancing to the music of God:
- Dancing to the music of the people, or of one’s own ego
- And: We make the music and the gods should dance to it.
Both types of play turn out to be obstacles on the way to a good character. Once we have landed on one of these paths, liberation is needed.
Acting
«And now for prayer. When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to pray in public on street corners and in synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you: That is the only reward they will ever receive» (Matthew 6:5 NLB). In Matthew 6, Jesus draws our attention to three classic practices of Jewish piety: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Jesus criticises those who publicly display these religious practices. They give alms, they pray and they fast in order to be noticed and respected. They want to secure their honour and reputation with it. Jesus calls them hypokritaia word that in itself is used in a value-neutral way in connection with acting and role-playing. Here it describes people who pretend to people and God through their pious practices. They are hypocrites. There is a gap between appearance and reality. They pretend that their gaze is directed towards God, but it is directed towards others, ultimately towards themselves. They look at the reactions of others and want to be praised. Yes, they even hope for rewards from God.
Such people pretend to dance to God’s music, but in fact they dance to the music of the people they want to please, indeed deeply they dance to the music of their own ego. This kind of practice of spiritual exercises not only prevents spiritual maturity, but also corrupts the character and this has an effect on the whole way of life.
That’s how quickly we get stuck in hypocrisy ourselves:
- We stand in a circle praying aloud. I hear myself formulating expressions and intentions that have little meaning in my personal prayer life. But it sounds good and displays a high spirituality.
- I am asked in the community how I deal with my illness. «Thank you, I feel sustained by the prayers of the congregation.«In reality, great abysses are opening up.
- We stress in certain circles the importance of all people hearing the good news. But in personal spirituality it does not matter.
Every human being has the desire for recognition and appreciation, for acceptance and honouring. Through their own achievements and by flaunting these achievements, the hypocrite wants to get recognition where there is nothing to get. Instead of undivided orientation towards the one in heaven, the hypocrite squints at people and seeks their approval. Instead of letting himself fall into the hand of the Father in heaven, the hypocrite builds on the spectacle of his own piety. The result is fatal, for pious hypocrisy cultivates vices that breed bad character. Honesty, transparency and integrity are at stake.
Jesus clarifies the question of wages with the following words: «[…] I assure you: This is the only reward they will ever receive» (Matthew 6:5 NLB). In other words, Hypocrites have to be satisfied with the recognition and appreciation of other people and will not get these elementary basic needs satisfied by the father. This shortcoming combined with much disappointment in prayer can really spoil faith in Jesus Christ.
Pious achievements
«Do not babble to yourselves when you pray, as people do who do not know God. They believe that their prayers will be heard if they only repeat the words often enough»(Matthew 6:7 NLB). For the people who do not know God, the term Heiden. These are people who do not know the God of Israel. In the Old Testament there is an example of how they prayed. The prophet Elijah held a contest on Mount Carmel to determine whether the Lord, the God of Israel, or Baal, the God of the Gentiles, was the true God. Elijah explains the rules of the game: «Get two bulls. The prophets of Baal are to choose one, cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood, but without setting it on fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood, but I will not set it on fire either. Then you will call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers with fire is the true God! And the people answered, This is good» (1Kings 18:23,24 NLB). First the 450 priests of Baal prayed. «Then they called on the name of Baal all morning long: Baal, answer us! But no answer came. Thereupon they danced around the altar they had erected»(V.26 NLB). Elijah then prays: «Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, show us today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command. Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people may know that you, Lord, are God and that you have won back their hearts» (V.36+37 NLB).
The pagans tried to move their God to action with their pious exercises. Sometimes pagan thinking takes root in us too. It reveals itself, for example, when someone comments on the fate of another and says: «Now this was such an exemplary Christian and was always faithful in the church.«Sometimes at prayer, healing or deliverance seminars, people are trained according to the motto: If you do everything right and find the right wording, the miracle will happen.
Even though it is not about a pious achievement, we still find the aspect of perseverance in the Bible. Yes, we are to persevere in prayer and storm heaven. If a child desperately wants a Lego construction set one day and a skateboard the day after that and then a PC game the next, parents will hardly go for it. We are happy to fulfil persistent requests from children. So too God. Fredy Staub: «I do PUSH: Pray until something happens.» We should ask persistently, but be aware: «Do not be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!»(Matthew 6:8 NLB).
With this obstacle, we pretend that God needs to be awakened and moved by our prayers. You could almost say: we make the music and the gods should dance to it.
Liberation
In Matthew 6, the word Father occurs twelve times. Deliverance from one or both of these two aberrations is the fruit of the relationship with the «Father in heaven, who knows what we need»(cf. Matthew 6:8, 32). At the centre of this father-relationship is the conversation with him, the prayer. That is why this section is followed by the Our Father prayer. Our Father relationship is the foundation and centre of every metamorphosis into a good character after the example of Jesus.
Our Father in Heaven! The prayer opens with the very intimate and personal address Daddy. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are adopted as a child of God and are given the right to associate the ruler and creator of this world with Daddy to address. Prayer is not a service we have to render to God, but a channel through which His love flows to us. Prayer is the access to the experience that we are safe with the Father. Prayer is not first a means to solve problems. Prayer is a means of deepening the father-child relationship. Praying widens the heart until it is big enough to receive God’s gift, His appreciation and acceptance, even Himself.
Thy kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.. After the very personal opening, the question of who plays the music is clarified. The Father in heaven should not dance to our music, but we to his..
Give us today our daily bread. On this basis we are to pray – even persistently – for our needs, always knowing that he already knows what we need.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And let us not be tempted, but deliver us from evil.. We should also let our spiritual life be flooded with His light and discuss it with Him. We need His support, His hold, to mature in our Christianity.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.. Our prayer life should lead to praise. When we have met the heavenly Daddy, we do not want to and cannot do otherwise. Those who have truly met God fall on their knees and worship.
Jesus makes it clear in the Sermon on the Mount: without prayer, understood as cultivating a relationship with the Father in heaven, there is no healthy metamorphosis. The obstacles mentioned, hypocrisy and pious performance, corrupt character. Corrie ten Boom once said: «A saint on his knees can see further than a philosopher on his tiptoes.» In relation to our transformation into the image of Jesus Christ, I would rephrase the quote as follows: A Christian on his knees becomes more Jesus-like than Aristotle on his toes.
Paul says: «Jesus Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all unrighteousness, and purify unto himself a people for a possession, zealous of good works»(Titus 2:14 LUT). The basis for good virtues and good character is what Jesus did for us. Therefore, all metamorphosis begins with a conscious turning to Jesus Christ. He has done everything. In becoming one with Him, we become part of it. All pious performance and hypocrisy becomes invalid.
Possible questions for the small groups
Read the Bible text: Matthew 6:5–8; cf. 1 Kings 18:1–40
- What is the significance of the prayer (Our Father) being the centre of the Sermon on the Mount? What does this mean specifically in terms of virtue and character formation?
- Why is hypocrisy an obstacle on the way to good character? Where are you in danger of hypocrisy?
- Why is pious performance an obstacle on the way to good character? Where are you in danger of pious performance?
- What is the significance for prayer if the Father in heaven knows in advance what we need? What could be the focus of prayer in that case?
