Prayer, Righteousness and Social Media: Understanding Prayer from the Context of the Lord’s Prayer

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

—Mt 5:16, 20; 6:1^†

The Context of the Lord’s Prayer

　　This article attempts to understand prayer through the context of the Lord’s Prayer in chapter six of the Gospel of Matthew (5:13-6:18). In fact, the “Lord’s Prayer” is an abbreviation; it is a traditional title established by convention. A more precise title should be “Lord Jesus teaches us to pray like this.” We first take a look at the structure of the larger paragraph that contains the Lord’s Prayer. These eighteen verses can be divided into five short paragraphs:

6:1    The Main Theme of the Whole Paragraph
6:2-4  On Almsgiving
6:5-6  On Prayer (I)
6:7-15  On Prayer (II) (including the Lord’s Prayer)
6:16-18  On Fasting

From this structure, “prayer” occupies a unique position in this larger paragraph: “prayer” is placed in the centre of three themes (almsgiving, prayer, fasting) and its content is lengthier than the other two themes’.

　　Moreover, the second (On Almsgiving), third (On Prayer I) and fifth (On Fasting) short paragraphs share an identical formula:

So when you [give to the needy / pray / fast], do not … as the hypocrites …. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. (6:2, 5, 16)
But when you [give to the needy / pray / fast] … your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (6:3-4, 6, 17-18)

The fourth short paragraph apparently shared this formula. With a closer examination, however, it is not exactly the same. This short paragraph does not mention “do not be like the hypocrites”; instead, it says “do not … like pagans” (6:7). Also, the paragraph is not concluded by “your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”; instead, it explains how serious the Father considers whether we forgive others’ sins (6:14-15), showing the importance of forgiving our debtors (6:12).

　　Since this article is intended to examine prayer through the context of the Lord’s Prayer, we will not discuss the content of this prayer in detail here. As 6:1 is the central theme and statement of the whole paragraph, this verse deserves our scrutiny.

Desiring Whose Rewards (6:1)

　　6:1 first exhorts us to beware of our intention, regardless of whether it is in almsgiving, prayer or fasting: “not to practice … in front of others to be seen by them.” Second, this verse implies that if we give to the needy, pray and fast secretly, we will be given “reward from your Father in heaven.” In other words, the text juxtaposes and contrasts people’s reward with the Father’s reward. Jesus warns us to be careful, never seek rewards from people but desire rewards from God.

　　Many years ago, when I was a newcomer to the Church, I often heard senior Christians say, “I serve with zeal, but I do not look for rewards. When I go to heaven, I will not seek a crown. It is enough for me to sweep the floor in heaven.” As a youth, I was immensely moved by this, and I wanted to learn from their humility and virtuousness. Now, I have a different understanding when I read Matthew 6:1-18. Truly, we should not seek rewards from people, and it is an inappropriate intention; but Jesus does teach us that we should desire rewards from God. When we give to the needy, pray and fast secretly, “your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (6:4, 6, 18).

Jesus’ Order and Social Media

　　Do not seek rewards from people, but desire rewards from God. How can we practice this in the contemporary situation?

　　The disciple community of the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary is formed mostly by seminary students and pastors who live in a society dominated by social media. This is our life setting. The default mechanism of social media is intended to attract others’ attention. An era dominated by social media is indeed an era that encourages narcissism. We live every day in this context and are easily influenced by this narcissism. In psychological counselling, there are even discussions about Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

　　If what is said in Matthew 6:1-18 concerns more than almsgiving, prayer and fasting, just using these three religious practices as illustrations, then we may boldly “translate” this passage and apply it to our current situation: seminary students and pastors, do not grumble and complain about your workload and hardship in ministry on Facebook at will; and do not display your faithful performance and busy schedule of duties to others consciously or unconsciously. When Christians participate in the “Equality/Sharing/Action” movement, they should not post their photos on Instagram at will.

　　Of course, I note that most social media today has customized privacy settings. What I mean to say is that we can definitely let those who pray for us or those whom we trust know about the details of our ministries privately. However, if we desire to share our “good deeds” in social media casually and publicly, I believe this Bible passage warns us to be cautious and not to do so.

　　Recently, one of my Facebook friends talked about pastors (and I would add seminary students as well) usually have a temperament of “helper.” One of our crises as pastors is that our satisfaction is based on the reaction of those people we serve. In my experiences, if they appreciate our efforts, it will strengthen our motivation; on the contrary, if they disparage our help, we will be frustrated. Unfortunately, the “like” function in social media is reinforcing this trend.

　　In the appendix of his book #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered World, Craig Groeschel mentions “The Ten Commandments of Using Social Media.” One of the commandments is “do not base your identity on what people think.” Living in an era overwhelmed by social media, we have to consciously practice “not seeking rewards from people, but desiring rewards from God.”

Let “Your Good Deeds” Be like the Light Shining before Others (5:13-16)

　　As a reader, you may ask: is it necessary to be that reserved? We should not share even our “good deeds” on Facebook or Instagram; is that an over-rectification? Obviously, Jesus’ speech in Matthew 6:1-18 is full of exaggeration and figurative language. So how can we understand it in a literal sense? A clear example is 6:3, “when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” This must be a figurative and exaggerated discourse and we cannot apply this extreme description literally to our actual lives.

　　Besides, readers may further ponder: Matthew previously states (5:13-16) that a believer’s light should “shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (5:16). If we cover ourselves up as Jesus orders in 6:1-18, does He contradict His own words here (“shine your light before others”)?

　　This article is not an exegetical paper, so we will not go into detail. Yet, Biblical scholars generally agree that Matthew 5:13-16 and 6:1-18 are not contradictory, because they demonstrate two different intentions. Chapter five orders the followers to “shine before others” in order to give glory to God; chapter six advises us to act in hiddenness for the sake of spiritual discipline: not seeking rewards from people, but desiring rewards from God.

“Your Righteousness” (6:1; 5:20)

　　Indeed, the connection of 6:1-18 with its previous passage deserves our close investigation.

　　The Chinese Union Version translates 6:1 as “Be careful not to practice good deeds in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” The Contemporary Chinese Version make a more literal translation based on the original Greek text, and the “good deeds” is translated as “your righteousness” with a particular footnote:

Your righteousness can be translated as “piety.” This “righteousness” can be understood as “good deeds”; however, the first verse is the introduction of verses 1-18, thus it includes not only the theme “almsgiving” in verses 2-4 but also the following themes “prayer” and “fasting” which are difficult to be counted as good deeds. This “righteousness,” therefore, is more appropriate to be understood as religious piety. In Jewish perspective, almsgiving is unlike doing good deeds that we perceive today. They treat it as a fulfilment of God’s command, a part of their communication with God.

“Righteousness” in noun form (δικαιοσύνη) appears ninety-two times in the New Testament; seven of them is used in the Gospel of Matthew (3:15; 5:6, 10, 20; 6:1, 33; 21:32), in which five appear in the Sermon on the Mount. Notably, only 5:20 and 6:1 mention “your righteousness,” and in both cases, the original form of “righteousness” is singular. And 5:17-48 is exactly the previous text of 6:1-18.

　　In other words, the Gospel of Matthew only mentions “your righteousness” twice, in two closely linked passages in the Sermon on the Mount. So, let us have a look at the previous text of 6:1-18, namely 5:17-48.

Public Righteousness or Hidden Righteousness (5:17-48; 6:1-18)

　　Whenever we talk about “righteousness,” Christians naturally think of some doctrinal issues such as justification, faith and deeds, etc. Now, let us first put aside these thoughts, and look at the message that Matthew 5:17-48 actually manifests. Matthew 5:17-48 can be divided into two main sections:

5:17-20 The Main Theme of the Whole Paragraph
5:21-48 Six Examples: Murder, Adultery, Divorce, Oath, Revenge and Love your Neighbor

　　Here Jesus teaches His disciples how to (re-)understand the Old Testament. That is, this passage asserts the interpersonal relations and ethical principles of a heavenly citizen.

　　Heretofore, we should be able to recognize how similar the structures of 6:1-18 and 5:17-48 are:

6:1 The Main Theme of the Whole Paragraph
6:2-18 Three Examples: Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting

These two successive passages are not only structurally parallel, but the two phrases of “your righteousness” also appear respectively in their main theme sections (5:20; 6:1). When we read these two passages in juxtaposition, we can even conclude that “your righteousness” has two aspects of presentation: public interpersonal relations and ethical principles, and hidden pious discipline before God. Both of them are Jesus’s teachings for us as heavenly citizens who follow Him.

　　In addition, we must not omit the subsequent passage (6:19-34) of the Lord’s Prayer when discussing the Lord’s Prayer and righteousness, particularly the phrase “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (6:33). However, we have to leave out this discussion due to space limitation.

Understanding Prayer from the Context

　　Thus far, we have discussed the context of the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Matthew (5:13-6:18), and it is time to incorporate its insights into our understanding of prayer.

　　First, from these three successive passages (5:13-16, 5:17-48, 6:1-18), we notice that Jesus mainly uses the plural pronoun “you” in His teaching. Prayer of heavenly citizens, therefore, concerns not only the individual relationship with God; on the contrary, the prayer is also communal: we pray to “our Father in heaven.”

　　Second, paradoxically, prayer is at the same time communal and hidden: “when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (6:6) Prayer, like any other pious spiritual disciplines (such as almsgiving and fasting), is hidden endeavor.

　　In addition, Matthew puts his discussion on “prayer” within the context of “your righteousness” and “your good deeds” (5:20, 6:1). It appears to remind us: apart from “communal” and “hidden,” prayer of heavenly citizens also consists the dimensions of “witness” and “ethics.” Testimonial and ethical aspects help us to understand the “three wishes” (6:9-10) and “three appeals” (6:11-13) in the Lord’s Prayer more deeply. Particularly, right after the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus warns us that our Father values our forgiveness of other people’s sin (6:14-15), an emphasis to the importance of “forgiving our debtors” in the Lord’s Prayer (6:12).

Conclusion

　　The modern world is inundated by social media. Influenced by the communal character of social media, narcissism and different privacy settings, Christians face huge challenges to practicing the kind of piety and righteousness that Jesus teaches. How can we consider and balance these four aspects — communal faith, hidden spiritual discipline, the testimony of heavenly citizens and ethics?

　　In the seminary, how should our disciple community respond to this teaching? Living under the widespread phenomenon of chasing after “online influencer” and KOL (Key Opinion Leader), what should we do and how should we respond? How can we use social media properly? Moreover, the seminary as a training institution has its requirements to students and its systems, such as curriculum, GPA, field education, chapel service, spiritual formation group and faculty-student-mentoring. Within this system and framework, how can we practice “not seeking rewards from people, but desiring rewards from God”? How can we not only value external performance but also pay effort in hidden endeavor?

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^† All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the NIV. The words in bold letters are the author’s emphasis.
^* This article is adapted from a sermon preached at the chapel service of Hong Kong Baptist Theology Seminary on October 11, 2017. The original title is “Prayer and ‘Piety’ (Mt 6:1-18).”