01/14 - Recovery from Addiction to Praise

Matthew 6:1-8

Jesus knew that getting praise from others could be addictive.

He had seen prominent people giving gifts out in public with great fanfare and pray-ing flowery prayers, not only in the synagogues but even on the street corners. He, like many listening to him that day, could see through the apparent good actions. Those giving the gifts and offering the prayers were more interested in being adored, and perhaps even envied, than in doing good. Outwardly they made their motives seem like the glorifying of God, but Jesus knew otherwise.

At least one time, Jesus himself was tempted to do something just to get the praise of people. In the desert, Satan challenged him to leap from the Temple and let the angels rescue him, getting attention from the gathered crowds and proving he was God’s Son. He well understood this temptation.

He also knew the only solution for it—abstinence. Like any addiction, the only way to way to recover from cravings for praise is take away the opportunity, to “go cold turkey.” Jesus said to the person addicted to the praise of men, “Go into your room, close the door.” He even said, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

Jesus wanted people doing good deeds. In fact, he wanted them done so they could be seen. This is what he meant by “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

How do we know when to do the good deeds “before men, that they may see,” and when to “go into [our] room, close the door”? We will have to deeply search our hearts to be sure our motivation is the praise of God and not the praise of men. Perhaps, as we learn to think like Jesus and our hearts grow more like his, the decision becomes trivial—we will just know.