Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. Matthew 6:1-5

Similar to a post I made a few days ago, these verses merely remind us to be careful about how we display our righteousness in front of others.

Praying in secret is the better way.
Giving in secret is the better way.
Performing acts of righteousness (good works) in secret is the better way.

Why?

No one has to know any of that. The really tempting one is good works. We often want others to know what we’ve done. God sees it and that should be enough. I say ‘should be,’ but often it isn’t. It’s human nature to want to be recognized for what we’ve done.

God will recognize you at the right time.

The praise of men is like someone handing you a rose. You inhale deeply of its wonderful aroma and pass it on to God. You’ve enjoyed the moment, now you get to pass that praise on to God since he’s enabled you to do what you’ve done.

You see this with athletes all the time. They’ve trained hard, won the “battle” and when they’re interviewed, they give God the glory. They smelled the rose and now are giving it over to Him.