Claim now to receive you 5% smugness bonus!

Friends, Americans, Countrymen lend me your eyes. Kami joined the party a couple of weeks ago so I feel compelled to give y'all something to read. Did I just write y'all and not go back and delete it? Oh no, there I go again. It's good that I feel compelled to write because it means I am compelled to read and since I'm pretty useless at both of those things any guidance is helpful. I blame Kyle and Kiki for lending me other amazing books to read.

But can Donald Miller and Thomas Wright write better books than Jesus' old mate Matt? Well that's up for debate, but right now we have other more pressing matters things to discuss.

Don't do 'good' things where other people can see you doing them - is the message Jesus has for us at the start of installment 6. In Matt 6:2 he says you should do it in secret - God can see secret things that no one else can so why not do your good things there? I got to thinking that maybe it's a bit like when you have a secret den when you're a kid - oh come on you had a den - because it's secret and only you and your mate can go there that's suddenly where you want to do everything. Even things that don't need to be done in secret suddenly have to be just because you can. You wanna eat lunch? It should be done in the den. You wanna do your homework? Off to the den. You wanna do some knitting? no didn't think so. It's just because it's yours so you might as well make use of it. Maybe God is so pleased that only he can see things in secret he figures he ought to make good use.

Well it's a good thing that a friend of mine pointed out an important point to stop this stupid rant. No, there is probably more to it than the fact that secrecy has some Godly novelty value. Recently this friend has been telling me about one of the underlying themes of the bible - motive. I have always been a fan of the batman principle - "it is the sum of my actions which defines me", but there is clearly more to it than that. Perhaps it's the sum of the motives of your actions that defines you? If you buy up and orphanage and fix it up with the intention of selling it on at a profit, are you doing 'good' or not?

Well I think this is what Jesus is addressing - in this statement he challenges peoples motives. To paraphrase "All your good deeds aint worth jack, if you're just doing it to look good to others. So prove that's not the case by not telling them. Before you say it, God will still know so no excuses" (in this scene Jesus is being played by an american swamp farmer with 2 teeth and a straw hat).

This is actually surprisingly hard. I've been trying it recently - doing good things and not telling anyone. Obviously I cant tell you what they are, indeed this may be breaking the rules just to have mentioned it, but my motive is explanation so it's all good. Anyway, it's really hard! Although 90% of the feel good comes from the act, it's hard not to cash in the 5% smug bonus and 5% admiration reward. I guess no one said this would be easy.

On to the topic of prayer. This confuses me a lot. Jesus says that one should pray in private (matt 6:6) but I've been to a couple of church services and they seem to be very much into their public prayer. People do prayer circles and all sorts, and they seem to get a lot out of it. I always thought that the community aspect of christianity would encourage public prayer. Hmmmm, maybe it's a motive thing again. Maybe JC is saying, don't pray for the sake of other hearing, pray for the sake of God. I guess he's just gonna have the trust the little of ladies sitting around their coffee table saying grace before lunch - I'm sure they're not just showing off!

I never thought I'd say this but... Gordon Brown and Jesus Christ have something in common. Nope - it's not the fact that a whole race of people want to see Gordon Brown crucified. It's that they both agree we should spend spend spend! Gordon Brown thinks we can spend our way out of recession, well maybe he should draw on the wise words of Jesus. "Mr Speaker, if I may address the house. Our lord Jesus Christ once said 'Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.' So get down to your local shopping centre and buy some more junk you don't need at heavenly prices."

You cannot serve God and Money, apparently. Which is why the Catholic church has so much of it, they are looking after it to prevent commoners from being corrupted. You cannot serve God and Money but you can certainly serve him with it! Wow I am so cynical. This raises a more interesting point though, if you cannot serve two masters then what other masters must you give up in order to serve God? Can you serve friends and God? Can you serve family and God? Can you serve your partner and God? Eeeek I just don't know!

Matthew 6:25-34 is one of my favourite parts of Matt's book. So I'm going to say the least about it. Only that everyone should read it and love it. Jesus says not to worry, because it is all out of your hands. He says that there is nothing you can do by worrying, you cant add one single hour. Consider the lilies, they do not worry, God provides for them.

The cynic in me says that sometimes there are flash floods and the lilies get washed away and if only they had have worried enough to build themselves as little wall around their stem then maybe they would have been ok, and then I wonder where god was when the flood waters pulled up their roots and washed them into the river. But then I stop thinking and occupy myself with something less ridiculous.

Is it comforting to think that you have no control whatsoever? The Jury is out, and right now I'm still not casting a vote, it's a lovely if terrifying concept.

In the style of a Jerry Springer final thought I would like to leave you with Jesus' closing words: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Take care of yourselves, and each other.