Matthew 6:1 But take care not to do your righteousness before men in order to be gazed at by them; otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens. (2) Therefore when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by men... (3) But you, when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, (4) So that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Righteousness here denotes righteous deeds, such as giving alms [Matthew 6 vv. 2-4], praying [vv. 5-15], and fasting [vv.
16-18]. No doubt these verses speak about the righteous deeds of the kingdom people. Actually, however, they expose the self and the flesh.
Man's flesh, seeking to glorify itself, always wants to do good deeds before men to be praised by them. But the kingdom people, who live in an emptied and humbled spirit and walk in a pure and single heart under the heavenly ruling of the kingdom, are not allowed to do anything in the flesh for the praise of men, but must do all things in the spirit for the pleasing of their heavenly Father.
Regarding each of the three illustrations, the Lord uses the word “secret.” We must do our righteous deeds in secret, for our Father is in secret. In verse 4 the Lord says that our Father sees in secret. The kingdom people as children of the heavenly Father must live in the presence of the Father and care for the Father's presence.
Whatever they do in secret for the Father's kingdom, the Father sees in secret. The heavenly Father's seeing in secret must be an incentive to doing their righteous deeds in secret. The effect of doing our righteous deeds in secret is that the self and the flesh are killed.
If people in society today are not allowed to make a show of their good deeds, they will not do them. Thus, for us...a basic principle concerning righteous deeds is never to make a show of ourselves.