If I had to choose between my wife and my putter... well, I’d miss her.
Good deeds
Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Matthew 6:1Jesus condemned people who did good deeds very publicly in order to be recognized. In the following verse we read “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full”. I don’t know if people literally blew a trumpet to announce their good deeds – it is certainly an amusing image – but we all know of people who like to make sure everyone knows what they have done.
I was once a member of a church which published a list of how much each member donated. When a new pastor proposed ending the practice and making all giving anonymous, it was amazing how much opposition there was. So many people wanted their generosity to be publicly acknowledged!
Sometimes Christian athletes talk about competing for an audience of one. That can be a real challenge as we examine our motivation and our need for public recognition. Matthew 6:3 commends doing good deeds in secret, adding “Your Father who seeswhat is done in secret will reward you”.
I have used this quote from World boxing champion, Muhammed Ali, before. He used to say: “The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym and out on the road, long before I dance under those lights”. That is as true for your spiritual life as for your sporting life.
Remember what you do when no one is looking is as important as what you do in public.