Monday, June 18, 2018

"not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife" - Righteousness in front of Others


An Old Imperial Picture Gallery in Tokto

Righteousness in front of Others

Christ Jesus gave unique advice on how to behave in good faith:
Matthew 6 New International Version (NIV)
Giving to the Needy
6 “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.
Satan hates righteous people and those who act according to their faith in God.  Satan also uses bad men to attack people doing good.  To protect righteous people, did Christ Jesus tell His followers not to display their righteousness in an open manner?  However, Christ Jesus also said not to hide a lamp without putting it under the bed, meaning to present faith in God in an open manner.

Doing good also attracts attention of ordinary people.  They might admire the goodness or the courage for others to show righteous in an open manner.  However, there are some among ordinary people who really want to behave good and show their goodness to other people and the public, but for some complicated reasons who could not get a chance to display their righteousness to the public and God.  So, it is natural they envy those who can show their righteousness to the public and God so openly without worrying about difficult situations.

It might be a very rare case, but if it happened, it might mean such a man deprived of such a chance is in a very complicated and serious situation.  Someone who wishes to be recognized or praised by God through his righteousness would regret his lack of a chance to appeal to God while others are openly or easily obtaining God's and pubic attention through bold acts of doing good.  This state could lead to less love to those who practice their righteousness in front of others. 
 
So, for peace among people and even among faithful people, Christ Jesus recommends His followers not to openly or proudly show one's righteousness to others.  This means that Christ Jesus never neglects sensitive nature of the human mind.


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Mar 6:18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
Mar 6:19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: