He put it in a sermon. Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise, he said we’d have no reward with God (Matthew 6:1).First Jesus said when you give to the poor, don’t do it so other folks will see it. He said they’d see you and you would have what you wanted and that would be the end of it.

Then he said when we prayed, we should go into our closets and talk to God in private (Matthew 6:5-6). Jesus did not condemn praying in public, but rather praying in public to be admired by men. If men’s admiration is all you seek, that will be all you get.

Finally he said that even regarding fasting there were folks who would do their best to get others to see their “sacrifice”. Here too, they were shallow, empty and void of real spirituality.

Today we call it “virtue signaling”. Same thing - new name. Trying to please the wrong people. Wanting acceptance from a crowd that has no respect for you and no concern for ideas you hold that are different from theirs. Fall in line unless you want to see them display their disdain for you. You are feeding on ashes just like Isaiah wrote of idolaters 2700 years ago (Isaiah 44:20).

Longing for this world’s attention will make you a slave to an unsatisfiable master. You will grow smaller & weaker in pursuit of the approbation of sinful yet arrogant people. James wrote that being a friend of the world will make us an enemy of God (4:4).

One day the heavens will open. Jesus will descend to the sound of a great shout, a mighty trumpet and the voice of the highest angel. Then before the entire host of heaven and all who have ever lived, he will declare your name and his approval of you his servant.

Never surrender that honor to anyone else.

If you draw attention to yourself, do so by being light in the midst of darkness, salt in this unsavory world & the city on a hill Jesus called you to be.