|
To Give or to Receive?
Give to him that asks, and from him who would borrow from you, turn him not away.
You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.
But I say, 'Love your enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you; that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love only those who love you, what reward do you deserve? do not even the publicans and thieves do the same?
And if you greet only your brethren, what do you do more than others? do not even the pagans do so?
Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Take heed that you do not do your alms before men, to be seen of them. For, lo, you have your reward.
When you do your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.
But when you are doing your alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does. That your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
How to Pray
And when you pray, be not as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Therefore be not like them; for your Father knows what things you have need of even before you ask him.
In this manner you should construct your prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
To Forgive or not to Forgive
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.
Moreover when you fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But you, when you fast, disfigure not your faces but rather wash so that you do not appear unto men to fast; and your Father who sees you fast in secret, he shall reward you openly.
Where your Treasure is
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves cannot break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light.
But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?
Behold the fowls of the air: they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more precious than they?
|
|
