Everybody, what is going on? You know what time it is. You're listening to join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter.

Thanks for joining. Have you ever had that feeling? You just want to be recognized by the people around you?

Me too. We're reading Matthew 6. And in today's Devo, Todd showed us that if we're longing for attention,

we've probably lost sight of the Almighty.

We've all got a desire to be seen, which makes sense because God designed us that way.

He desires for us to live in relationship with him.

And a relationship means both parties give each other attention.

But when we misplace that desire for attention, problems start to occur. And that's what we see in Matthew 6. Jesus continues the

sermon on the mount with a warning. Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people

in order to be seen by them. That's what he says.

And then he proceeds to walk through some spiritual disciplines. He says, when you pray, you shouldn't

go around making sure everyone with an eyesight sees or hears you praying. And when you fast,

the goal isn't to make sure everyone sees how spiritual you are.

Now, back in Matthew 5, we already saw Jesus correct the misconception that says

biblical instruction is simply a checklist intended to make a stand out.

Rather, Jesus taught that God cares about the heart behind the obedience.

Don't do the bare minimum to check the

box, but being first motivated by love, then seek to represent Christ well. Today in Matthew 6,

we again see that God cares about the heart. It isn't just about how other people see you. Yes,

believers should stand out to the watching world, but if our goal is simply to stand

out, we're missing the point. And if our goal is to stand out amongst other believers, we're

definitely missing the point. God cares about our hearts. We should do good things like prayer and

...