Day 26 – Matthew 6:16–18
by Annie Kirk

I don’t think I’m the only one who wants recognition from others after I’ve done something I’m proud of. And who when I don’t get it, discreetly tries to make people aware of how amazing I am (basically, I’m a lot like the people in the text). If you’re anything like this, you find today’s text very challenging. Maybe you even get annoyed, because let’s face it: having people praise you is half the fun of doing something good! Why would Jesus want to take that away? The thing is, fasting isn’t for your own benefit – it’s for God’s.

Therefore it really doesn’t matter what other people think, only that we’re faithful to God. Guess it’s a good thing lent isn’t over yet, because this is really difficult and we probably need to practise getting our perspective right for a while longer!