Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. … But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. [Matthew 6:1,3 (NLT)]
In the category of “Newer Words,” the night’s Final Jeopardy clue was, “Philosopher’s use it for language that accompanies an action, like ‘I dub thee knight’; it also means done for show or signal.” The correct response was “performative.” A new word to me, I encountered it again the following day in an article by Rich Villodas about “performative spirituality.” After asking, ”If a good deed is not posted on social media, did it really happen?” Villodas continued with another rhetorical question, “If an act of generosity is not caught on camera and never goes viral, was it a worthwhile gesture?”
Performative behavior is intended to show how a person wants to be seen by others, rather than who they really are. While performative spirituality is more blatant in this day and age, it didn’t begin in the 21st century with social media. God the Father took issue with it back in the 8th century BC. Through the prophet Hosea, God made it clear that outward expressions of faith through offerings and sacrifices were meaningless without the covenant loyalty, love, and obedience that are the hallmarks of spirituality. God wanted true faith rather than empty sacrifice. [6:6]
Jesus certainly took issue with performative spirituality in the 1st century. Along with strict adherence to the law, Jewish religious leaders considered giving, fasting, and praying to be the most important proof of one’s piety. When they made offerings, many were sure to do it in public view and, when they fasted, their sad demeanor, unshaven unwashed faces, and unclean clothes made it obvious to all. To show their piousness, they often enlarged their tefillin, lengthened the tzitzits on their robes, and prayed long, loud, and public prayers. They may have worn large prayer boxes on their arms, but they hadn’t placed the boxes’ words in their hearts nor were they obeying the commandments represented by their long tassels. Being regarded as righteous by others is not the same as being righteous before God!
Jesus chastised the Pharisees and scribes for the way they could appear devout and honorable through their strict obedience to the law while actually breaking it. Through the practice of Corban, they could dedicate their property (both real and personal) to the Lord. In theory, having given everything to the Temple, they were penniless. In practice, however, they retained their wealth with a life estate in their property. Able to keep their possessions and land, they could live off any earnings and interest for the rest of their lives! Contrary to God’s law, this arrangement allowed them to enjoy a comfortable life while freeing them from their debts along with their financial responsibility to support their aging parents and help those in need.
When Jesus told us we’re not to let our left hand to know what our right hand is doing when we give to those in need, I’ve always interpreted the words to mean that our giving should be done anonymously. After all, kindness, generosity, and compassion aren’t spectator sports. Jesus, however, is speaking of more than anonymity. For a Christ follower, charity and compassion should be as automatic and instinctive for us as it was for Jesus. With no thought of reward, it should be so natural that the left hand doesn’t even notice when the right hand reaches into the wallet or writes a check to charity. Moreover, with the left hand uninvolved, we can’t applaud our “righteous” behavior!
What we might call “performative spirituality” in the 21st century, Jesus bluntly called hypocrisy! His words about such behavior are a warning to all generations—especially ours when it’s so easy to be caught up in seeking approval from people. Nothing we do or say should be done with the purpose of displaying our ”righteousness,” exhibiting our “holiness,” or receiving admiration or applause. God knows what we do but He also knows why we do it. As God’s lamps, the purpose of letting our light shine is not to glorify ourselves; it to glorify the source of our light—God!
It is not the being seen of men that is wrong, but doing these things for the purpose of being seen of men. The problem with the hypocrite is his motivation. He does not want to be holy; he only wants to seem to be holy. He is more concerned with his reputation for righteousness than about actually becoming righteous. The approbation of men matters more to him than the approval of God. [Augustine]
Devotions of the Heart 