Matthew 6:1-4

Matthew 6:1-4 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Sometimes, we have to pay attention to the little words Jesus uses.  Notice how he talks about 'when' you give to the poor.  Not if.  When.  When you give to the needy.  He does the same thing when he talks about prayer -- 'When you pray...'. 
  There's a baseline assumption that we are praying, that we are giving to the needy.  If not, we need to get on board with that, and then we can start examining motives and deeper things at work, but making sure that we are meeting the baseline test is critical.  Once we're at work, then we can examine how we are at work.  The temptation is to sit back and think ourselves in circles before we ever get to work.  Let's make sure we are busy loving and serving first, and then we can have the deeper conversations.  'When you give...'