Give to Your Father, Not the Crowd
6 1 Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So when you give to the needy, don't blow a trumpet to announce it, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Pray to Your Father in Secret
5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not babble on like those who don't know the Father, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, a a v9 Jesus invites his followers to come to our Father with the same closeness he himself enjoys — not as distant servants but as beloved children of the same Father. 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
14 For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
Fast for Your Father Alone
16 When you fast, do not look somber like the hypocrites, for they make their faces look miserable to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, b b v17 Putting oil on the head was ordinary daily grooming in Jesus' culture — the point is simply to look your normal, well-kept self. 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father who is unseen. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Store Treasure With Your Father
19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve our Father and money.
Your Father Knows What You Need
25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how our Father clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" 32 For those who don't know the Father run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of our Father and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.