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UST MAT Chapter 6

6 When you do what God desires, make sure that you are not doing it so that people praise you for it. When you do what God desires so that others praise you, God your Father, who rules from heaven, will not reward you. 2 Whenever some people give money to help poor people, they have someone announce what they are doing by playing a loud instrument in the Jewish meeting places and in the main roads. They pretend to help others, but they just want other people to praise them. God will not reward them any more than that. What I have said is true. So, you should not behave like that. 3 Instead, when you give money to help poor people, you should do it as privately as possible. 4 That way, only God your Father will know that you have given money to help poor people. When he observes you doing that privately, he will reward you.

5 Whenever some people pray to God, they enjoy doing so while standing in the Jewish meeting places and on the street corners. They pretend to focus on praying, but they just want other people to recognize them. God will not reward them any more than that. What I have said is true. So, you should not behave like that. 6 In contrast, when you want to pray to God, you should go to a private room in your house and close the door. Then, you can pray to God your Father, who is there with you in private. When he observes you doing that privately, he will reward you. 7 Further, as you are praying, do not repeat yourself as non-Jews do. They suppose that their gods will listen to them if they use many words. 8 So then, do not pray to God as they do. In fact, before you ask him for anything that you need, God your Father is already aware of what you need. 9 Here is how you should pray to God:

‘I pray to God our Father, who rules from heaven.

May all people glorify you.

10 May you establish your kingdom.

May everyone do what you want

here on earth, just as they already do in heaven.

11 Please give us the food we need each day.

12 We have forgiven people for when they did not treat us rightly.

In the same way, please forgive us for when we do not act rightly.

13 Please protect us from everything that tries to make us sin.

Please rescue us when Satan tries to harm us.’

14 God your Father, who rules from heaven, will forgive you as long as you forgive the people who sin against you. 15 However, God your Father will not forgive you when you sin against him as long as you do not forgive other people.

16 Whenever some people do not eat in order to please God, they change how their faces look. They pretend to be sad, but they just want other people to recognize that they are not eating. God will not reward them any more than that. What I have said is true. So, you should not behave like that. 17 In contrast, when you do not eat in order to please God, you should keep yourselves neat and clean. 18 That way, other people do not know that you are not eating. Only God your Father, who is there with you in private, will know. When he observes you doing that privately, he will reward you

19 You should not collect many valuable things for yourselves in this world. In this world, insects eat clothes, and metal objects corrode. Further, robbers force their way into people’s houses to take their goods. 20 Rather, you should collect many valuable things for yourselves in heaven. In heaven, insects do not eat clothes, and metal objects do not corrode. Further, robbers do not force their way into people’s houses to take their goods. 21 That is important because you think and care most about the place where you collect valuable things.

22 Your eyes are like a lamp since they enable you to see. If your eyes are working properly, then your whole body will benefit. 23 However, if your eyes are not working properly, then your whole body does not benefit at all. So consider how bad it is when what you see as bright light is actually very dark!

24 Servants cannot serve two different masters at the same time. If they tried to do that, they would hate one of them and love the other one, or they would be loyal to one of them and consider the other one to be unimportant. In the same way, you cannot devote your life to serving God if you are also devoting your life to acquiring money and other material possessions.

25 So then, here is what I want to tell you: do not worry about whether you will have enough to eat or drink to stay alive. Do not worry about whether you will have enough clothes to wear to stay warm. After all, your life is more important than the food you eat, and your body is more important than the clothes you put on it. 26 Think about the birds that fly in the sky. They do not plant seeds, and they do not harvest crops. They do not store crops, but God your Father, who rules from heaven, provides food for them. You are certainly much more important than they are, so you can be sure that God will give you what you need. 27 You cannot add even a minute to your life by worrying about it!

28 So, you should not worry about whether you will have enough clothes to wear. Observe the way that flowers grow in a field. They do not work to earn money, and they do not make their own clothes. 29 However, here is what I want to tell you: King Solomon, who lived long ago and wore glorious clothes, never dressed as beautifully as a single flower. 30 God makes plants beautiful, even though they grow for only a short time. Then people cut them down and throw them into the fire. But you are very precious to God. He will care for you even more than he cares for the plants. You should trust God more than you do! 31 So then, do not worry by asking about whether you have anything to eat or drink, or whether you have clothes to wear. 32 The people who do not know God worry about such things. However, you should not worry about such things because God your Father, who rules from heaven, knows that you need them all. 33 You should concentrate primarily on what you can do for God’s kingdom and on doing what God considers to be right. When you do those things, you can trust God to provide everything you need. 34 So then, do not worry about what will happen tomorrow. You can worry tomorrow about what will happen during that day. Enough bad things happen each day that you should not worry about bad things that might happen tomorrow.

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