Don't Make a Show of It

Warning: another old man / get off my lawn blog post...

Matthew 6:1-4
1. Be careful that you don't do your charitable giving before men,
to be seen by them,
or else you have no reward from your Father who is heaven.
2. Therefore when you do merciful deeds,
don't sound a trumpet before yourself,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
that they may get glory from men.
Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
3. But when you do merciful deeds,
don't let your left hand know what your right hand does.
4. so that your merciful deeds may be in secret,
then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
5. When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites,
for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.
Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
6. But when you pray, enter your inner chamber,
and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret,
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Can these verses not be applied to more than just giving and praying? Wouldn't the same apply to patting yourself on the back, bragging about your kids, to scoring touchdowns and hitting home runs? People do their job, be it in an office or on the field, and afterwards all they want to do is make sure everyone else knows what they did.

Take one minute to screw in a light bulb, then take ten to talk about what a great job they did. "Hey Sue! Did you see that? Sure is brighter in here now. That ladder was a little wobbly, but I just leaned the other way. That old bulb didn't want to budge, but I stuck with it and got it moving. Have you ever changed a light bulb? Gotta be careful not to damage the new bulb. And be careful with the old one. Don't want to break it either. Light bulbs are a mess to clean up. And you don't want to get cut by a light bulb. No sir. Jim! Does it seem brighter in here?..." And on and on. How 'bout getting back to work?

Score a touchdown and dance and tweet. Why not just hand the ball to the referee like Herschel or Barry. Sack the QB and dance a jig. But when you get knocked on your rear are you dancing then? I don't think so. Prima donna Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant gets mad when he gets shut down, and wants to fight with the cornerback, the quarterback, and the other receivers for getting balls instead of him. Grow up and get back to work.

There are several topics mentioned in the New Testament that Jesus did not address. He did say "Go and sin no more."

Sometimes I put the emphasis on the second syllable of the word coupon just to think about Brett Freemon.

The one good thing about Bryce Harper's fight: his hair was looking good - no greasy kid stuff.

Wednesday: had on some of the basketball pregame before our late supper (baked spaghetti). C was watching Netflix, so I watched the Braves. Considering their preseason prediction of at best a .500 record, they're doing pretty good despite two of the starting eight are hurt, and one of the starting pitchers was a bust.

Turned it over to basketball as the third quarter was starting. Didn't see it, but heard LeBron lowered his shoulder but Curry was called for the block. Do the refs get paid by the game or for the entire series? Perhaps they are interested in the series stretching out.

Worked past 6:20 when something fell apart late. Made it to the bike shop before it closed, then Goodwill to drop off some donations. Also RaceTrac for a drink refill. Was 7:45 before I got home. Helped Ceil move furniture so she could paint. M was at work.