Virtue signaling II

After Matthew 6:16-18 

Fasting is not something

to be advertised; it us

to be seen only by the one

it’s intended to honor.

Fasting is not only to forgo

food; it is also giving 

something up – money,

time, insight, focus, 

desire, habit. Give it up,

by all means, if you

intend to honor the one.

But don’t advertise it.

Don’t brag. Don’t make

sure you’ll be discovered

doing it or having done it.

Fasting is not about you.

It never was.

It never will be.

So do it in secret

and you’ll be rewarded.

In secret.

 

Photograph by Patrick Fore via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Virtue signaling I

After Matthew 6:1-6

A gift to the need

is just that: a gift,

a gift from the heart,

a faithful heart.

A gift to the needy

is not an opportunity

to signal your virtue,

blow your own horn,

or modestly blush as

you subtly call

attention to what

a good person you are.

Because that is your

reward, for the fleeting

moment it lasts. Because

if that’s your motivation, 

then that’s your reward.

The admonition of blowing 

your own trumpet includes

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,

Instagram, and the rest. 

Imagine a reward that lasts

as long as a tweet.

 

Photograph by Arten Beliaikin via Unsplash. Used with permission.