“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ‘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 honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 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. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-4

Dear Jesus, Help me not to notice if people notice my kindness to them or others. I don’t need the praise of people when I know I am in the center of your will for life. I don’t have any ‘pay offs’ for my goodness when I am truly a volunteer out of appreciation for grace. Help me forget every act of kindness the second after I’ve done it. Make me thoughtful about loving people and thoughtless about myself. Give me the freedom of unconditional love. You lived for your father’s approval every second of your life. He is my father now too. I want to live for his approval alone. Help me Lord Jesus, to truly live as you intended and have enabled humans to. Amen.

Go and learn what this means, “Love is thoughtful and forgetful at the same time.”