motives

²Every way of a man seems right to himself. But the Lord weighs hearts.

¹“Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven. ²Therefore, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your almsgiving may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you. ⁵And when you pray, you should not be like the hypocrites, who love standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets to pray, so that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.

¹⁰For am I now persuading men, or God? Or, am I seeking to please men? If I still were pleasing men, then I would not be a servant of Christ.

⁴But, just as we have been tested by God, so that the Gospel would be entrusted to us, so also did we speak, not so as to please men, but rather to please God, who tests our hearts.

³Let nothing be done by contention, nor in vain glory. Instead, in humility, let each of you esteem others to be better than himself.

⁵Now the goal of instruction is charity from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith.

⁷And the Lord said to Samuel: “You should not look with favor on his face, nor on the height of his stature. For I have rejected him. Neither do I judge by the appearance of a man. For man sees those things that are apparent, but the Lord beholds the heart.”

¹“Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven.

⁵And so, do not choose to judge before the time, until the Lord returns. He will illuminate the hidden things of the darkness, and he will make manifest the decisions of hearts. And then each one shall have praise from God.

²All the ways of a man are open to his eyes; the Lord is the one who weighs spirits.

¹²Do not be like Cain, who was of the evil one, and who killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because his own works were wicked, but his brother’s works were just.

¹Where do wars and contentions among you come from? Is it not from this: from your own desires, which battle within your members? ²You desire, and you do not have. You envy and you kill, and you are unable to obtain. You argue and you fight, and you do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and you do not receive, because you ask badly, so that you may use it toward your own desires. ⁴You adulterers! Do you not know that the friendship of this world is hostile to God? Therefore, whoever has chosen to be a friend of this world has been made into an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you think that Scripture says in vain: “The spirit which lives within you desires unto envy?” ⁶But he gives a greater grace. Therefore he says: “God resists the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble.”

¹³Let us all listen together to the end of the discourse. Fear God, and observe his commandments. This is everything for man. ¹⁴And so, for all that is done and for each error, God will bring judgment: whether it was good or evil.

⁷If you behave well, will you not receive? But if you behave badly, will not sin at once be present at the door? And so its desire will be within you, and you will be dominated by it.”

¹⁷Let everything whatsoever that you do, whether in word or in deed, be done all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

²³Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as for the Lord, and not for men.

¹Most beloved, do not be willing to believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

⁶Do not serve only when seen, as if to please men, but act as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.