Matthew
6
- "Be careful not to do your 'acts of
righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no
reward from your Father in heaven.
- "So when you give to the needy, do not
announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the
streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their
reward in full.
- But when you give to the needy, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
- so that your giving may be in secret. Then
your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- "And when you pray, do not be like the
hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street
corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their
reward in full.
- But 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.
- And when you pray, do not keep on babbling
like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
- Do not be like them, for your Father knows
what you need before you ask him.
- "This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
- your kingdom come, your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
- Give us today our daily bread.
- Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven
our debtors.
- And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from the evil one.'
- For if you forgive men when they sin against
you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
- But if you do not forgive men their sins,
your Father will not forgive your sins.
- "When you fast, do not look somber as
the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.
I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
- But when you fast, put oil on your head and
wash your face,
- so that it will not be obvious to men that
you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father,
who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- "Do not store up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- But store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break
in and steal.
- For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.
- "The eye is the lamp of the body. If
your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
- But if your eyes are bad, your whole body
will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great
is that darkness!
- "No one can serve two masters. Either
he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one
and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
- "Therefore I tell you, do not worry
about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you
will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important
than clothes?
- Look at the birds of the air; they do not
sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?
- Who of you by worrying can add a single hour
to his life?
- "And why do you worry about clothes?
See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
- Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all
his splendor was dressed like one of these.
- If that is how God clothes the grass of the
field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not
much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
- So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?'
or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
- For the pagans run after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
- But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
- Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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