Episode 1122: Why Practice Piety?

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1,122 of the inspired stewardship podcast.

[00:00:07] Eric Brotman: I'm Eric Brotman from the don't retire

[00:00:10] graduate

[00:00:10] podcast. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent and your treasuries to live out your calling, having the ability to plan for the future. And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the inspired stewardship podcast with my friend, Scott.

[00:00:30] Scott Maderer: no, this is what we practice. And in fact, it will tell you somewhat, this is why you should do it as well, because this outward turning of faith is in part about what's in it for me, but not in a selfish way. How does it change me? Might be a better question.

[00:00:55] Eric Brotman: Welcome. And thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcasts.[00:01:00]

[00:01:00] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be,

[00:01:04] Scott Maderer: then you must learn to use your time, your

[00:01:06] Eric Brotman: talent and your treasures for your true calling in the inspired stewardship podcast. We'll learn to invest in yourself, invest in others and develop your. So that you can impact the work.

[00:01:21] Scott Maderer: And today's

[00:01:22] Eric Brotman: spiritual foundation episode about investing in others.

[00:01:25] Scott Maderer: I talk with you about

[00:01:26] Eric Brotman: Matthew chapter six, verses one through six and

[00:01:29] Scott Maderer: verses 16 through 21. I talk about why practicing piety and storing up treasures may be an issue of the

[00:01:36] Eric Brotman: heart. And I also share why we are so comfortable with this,

[00:01:40] Scott Maderer: but need to get uncomfortable with it

[00:01:42] Eric Brotman: instead of.

[00:01:43] So last week I was serving on a walk to amaze us as the lay director. And one of the talks that goes on that weekend retreat is called

[00:01:52] Scott Maderer: about a life of PI.

[00:01:55] Eric Brotman: And it reminded me of the passage that is often used around this time of the [00:02:00] year during the Easter season, after Easter Sunday, Matthew chapter six, that verse goes like this beware of practicing your piety before others, in order to be seen by them for then you have no reward from your father.

[00:02:15] And heaven. So whenever

[00:02:17] Scott Maderer: you give all arms do not

[00:02:18] Eric Brotman: sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may be praised by others. Truly. I tell you they have received their reward, but when you give

[00:02:28] Scott Maderer: all arms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your all's may be done in secret.

[00:02:34] And your father who sees

[00:02:35] Eric Brotman: in secret will reward. And whenever you pray do not be like the hypocrites

[00:02:40] Scott Maderer: for, they love to stand and pray in the

[00:02:43] Eric Brotman: synagogues and at the street corners so that they may be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward, but whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret.

[00:02:55] And your father who sees in secret will reward you. And whenever you fast do not [00:03:00] look dismal, like the hypocrites for they disfigure their faces. So is to show others that they are fasting. Truly. I tell you they received their reward, but when you fast put oil on your head and wash

[00:03:10] Scott Maderer: your face so that your fasting may be seen not by others, but by your

[00:03:14] Eric Brotman: father.

[00:03:15] Who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward. You do not store up for yourselves, treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves, treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in or steal for where your treasure is there.

[00:03:35] Your heart will be also.

[00:03:37] Scott Maderer: Passage often can be

[00:03:39] Eric Brotman: seen as a hodgepodge or mixture, especially cause it skips over some in the middle. It goes one through

[00:03:46] Scott Maderer: six and then 16 through 21 in the lectionary. And this one often when that happens, it feels sometimes like it's chopped up. And I would say in some ways, this one does as [00:04:00] well, because there's the whole beginning part that auto flows about not trumpeting about your piety, but then there's the treasure in heaven part at the end and how treasures

[00:04:10] Eric Brotman: will be where your heart is.

[00:04:11] And this, that sort of

[00:04:13] Scott Maderer: seems a little bit out of place. It all seems to be basically about, don't do these things so that others will see you, but instead do them because they're

[00:04:22] Eric Brotman: the right thing to do.

[00:04:25] Scott Maderer: And I understand that may be something that in some ways seems a little less applicable today because now

[00:04:32] Eric Brotman: it might be about not showing your piety in public because others will slam you for it.

[00:04:37] Where back then it was about not showing your piety in public so that you don't appear to be better than you are. So to speak.

[00:04:44] Scott Maderer: There is something here about practicing your piety. I mentioned the walk to a mass earlier in this idea of a life of piety. And I think it's important to recognize that piety is a practice.

[00:04:59] It is [00:05:00] something that we do constantly and we never really get it right. Or make it complete or finish it. It's a journey as opposed to a destination. It's something that we do as. Of doing it. And it's the fact that this passage is actually telling you to do these things. It's not saying don't fast. It's not saying don't practice giving charity.

[00:05:28] It's not saying don't do these things. It's saying do these things because. They're the right thing to do. And I think it would be easy to read this passage and say, it's saying do it with the right motivations. And yet the truth is none of us are ever pure of motivation 100%. And therefore we just shouldn't be doing it because the reason matters a whole lot to Jesus.

[00:05:53] So maybe we should just stop doing it so that we'll be safer. But I think that's not what this is called. [00:06:00] Us to do. In fact, I think it's saying in part, doing this outwardly and faint paying attention to our inward motivation and working on that is the whole point to do these things and to do it because we're doing it with the right heart is the goal.

[00:06:19] And if we practice both of those things, the inward and the outward, we get better at it over time.

[00:06:26] Eric Brotman: Now is it

[00:06:27] Scott Maderer: just about doing this? Because that's the thing we're supposed to do that we're told to do, go do it because I told you, you so might work on small children, but it tends to not work so well after that.

[00:06:41] But instead I think this is again saying no, this is what we practice. And in fact it will tell you somewhat, this is why you should do it as well. Because this outward turning of faith is in part about what's in it for me, [00:07:00] but not in a selfish way in terms of how does it change me? Might be a better question.

[00:07:08] And it's about doing this journey. As a way of maybe storing up those treasures in heaven that are mentioned at the very end, that seems like a non-sequitur that seemed like they just come out of nowhere because this isn't about self-denial like fasting and giving away things and all of that, just to give it away instead, it's about, don't do this with the mindset of what it gets you here on earth, but do it with the mindset of.

[00:07:40] Does for your heart and where it points that sometimes Jesus seems to take a hard line about stuff. And talk about how stuff is bad or at least that's how some people read certain passages from the Bible, but he doesn't actually say, stay away from treasure, stay away [00:08:00] from stuff. And Sadie says, no, it's okay to treasure, but what matters is what we choose to treasure.

[00:08:09] Some

[00:08:09] Eric Brotman: treasures aren't worth storing up

[00:08:11] Scott Maderer: because they rust and they get destroyed and they fall apart. But. Treasures are worth it because they're timeless and they last forever there's treasure and then there's treasure and you need to know the difference, but how can we actually know the difference?

[00:08:30] It's not about doing things and chopping up things on a tally sheet so that you can earn your way into heaven. No, that comes because of the grace of God. Stuff is stuff. There's a point to the treasures that are not the stuff as well. The internal thing, what if it's not, I do this so I can get that, that the treasure is the reward or the payment or the end result.

[00:08:59] What if [00:09:00] the actual treasure is the act of doing it itself? What if the treasurer isn't something we hold, but something we do. It's about this idea of storing up treasures in heaven is about doing the things that we're called to do. It's scary to focus on it that way. And it's a little uncomfortable because it's about looking at things not as a cause and effect or an either or do this to get that equation that I think is so easy and comfortable for all of us to think about.

[00:09:37] Instead it's about looking at. For what does it do to our heart? What's in it for me becomes how does it change me? What's in it for me becomes what can I do for others that actually changes my heart and my mind through this action I change. And that is the treasure that is the end [00:10:00] result that I'm actually after.

[00:10:02] And if you do that long enough, then your whole picture changes. And you truly

[00:10:08] Eric Brotman: have stored up treasures in heaven. Thanks for listening.

[00:10:13] Thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast as a subscriber and listener, we challenge

[00:10:20] Scott Maderer: you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard

[00:10:26] Eric Brotman: and find a way to live your. If you enjoy this episode, do me a favor, go over to facebook.com/inspired stewardship

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[00:10:54] Eric Brotman: and tips there until next time, invest your time.

[00:10:59] [00:11:00] Your talent and your treasures develop your influence and impact the world.