在这段经文中，耶稣再次批评那些试图以其善行来获得关注的人们（见太 6:1）。而这一次是针对那些为了引起注意而刻意禁食的人。
禁食的操练，像祈祷一样，是为了使我们更接近神。当我们禁戒饮食时，我们会进行斯科特-麦克奈特（Scot McKnight）所描述的“身体交谈”，这种禁食是一种具体的祈祷形式。
故此，我们就明白，为什么耶稣会如此批评那些试图滥用禁食或任何属灵操练并藉此来博取关注的人。这些操练是为了使我们在神面前“清心”。但在别人面前炫耀，只能说明一个人何等缺乏清心。即使有些人被炫耀的人迷惑，神也不会被蒙蔽。如果我们对别人的关注超过我们关注与神的关系，那么我们的关注就演变为一个偶像，是对神的轻蔑。
我们的属灵操练纯粹应该是为了我们与神的关系。因此，我们在与其他人谈论这些操练或在社交媒体上发布这些动态时应该谨慎。虽然可能真的需要发表或与他人分享经验，但我们必须保守自己的心，以免他人的注意力对我们成为偶像的试探。
父啊，请帮助我在我所做的一切事上以专注于增进我与你的关系为目标。请保守我免于陷入不纯正的动机。奉耶稣的名，阿们。
马太福音 6:16-18
16“你们禁食的时候，不可像那假冒为善的人，脸上带着愁容，因为他们把脸弄得难看，故意叫人看出他们是禁食。我实在告诉你们：他们已经得了他们的赏赐。17你禁食的时候，要梳头洗脸，18不叫人看出你禁食来，只叫你暗中的父看见，你父在暗中察看，必然报答你。
"Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:18
In this passage Jesus is again critical of people who try to get attention for the good things they do (see Matthew 6:1). And this time it’s about people who practice fasting in order to be noticed.
The discipline of fasting, like prayer, is meant to draw us nearer to God. When we abstain from food or drink, we engage in what Scot McKnight calls “body talk,” an embodied form of prayer.
Thus we can see why Jesus would be so critical of people who misuse fasting, or any spiritual discipline, by trying to get attention for it. The disciplines are meant to make us “pure in heart” before God. But showing off in front of others only shows how impure a person’s heart really is. And even if some people are fooled by a showoff, God is not fooled. If we are more interested in the attention of others than in our relationship with God, then our attention-seeking is an idol and makes a mockery of God.
Our spiritual practices are meant for God, for our relationship with him alone. So we should be careful in talking about them with other people or posting about them on social media. While there may be a genuine need to process or share experiences with others, we must guard our hearts against the temptation to turn others’ attention into an idol.
Father, help me to focus on the goal of strengthening my relationship with you in all I do. Please guard me against having impure motives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
