BWE - Matthew - 6

6:1  Do not do good things so that people will see you do them. If you do, you will get no reward from your Father in heaven.

6:2  ‘So when you give money to poor people, do not send men in front of you to blow trumpets or horns. Some people do this in the meeting houses and on the streets so that people will praise them. They are not true to themselves. I tell you the truth. They have their pay already.

6:3  But when you give money to poor people, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

6:4  In this way, what you give to the poor will be secret. Your Father sees secret things and he will reward you.

6:5  ‘When you talk to God, do not be like people who are not true to themselves. They like to stand and talk to God in the meeting houses and at the street corners, so that people will see them. I tell you the truth. They have their reward already.

6:6  But when you talk to God, go into your room and shut the door. Then talk to your Father in secret. Your Father sees secret things and he will reward you.

6:7  ‘And when you talk to God, do not say words that mean nothing, over and over again. People who do not believe in God do that. They think their god will hear them because they say many words.

6:8  Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

6:9  So talk to your God like this: “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

6:10  “May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

6:11  “Give us our food for today.

6:12  “Forgive us for the wrong things we have done, the way we forgive those who have done wrong things to us.

6:13  “Do not test us but help us, so that no one will make us do wrong. Deliver us from the evil one. The kingdom and power and praise belong to you for ever. Amen!”

6:14  ‘If you forgive others for the wrong things they have done, then your Father in heaven will forgive you.

6:15  But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you for the wrong things you have done.’

6:16  ‘When you are fasting, do not look sad. That is what people do who are not true to themselves. They look sad to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth. They have their reward already.

6:17  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face as you do at other times.

6:18  Then people will not see that you are fasting. But your Father sees secret things, and he will reward you.’

6:19  ‘Do not keep many things for yourself on earth. Insects and rust will spoil them. People will get in and steal them.

6:20  But keep things for yourself in heaven. Insects and rust will not spoil them there. People will not get in and steal them.

6:21  The place where you keep things is where your heart will be also.’

6:22  ‘The body gets its light through the eyes. If you have good eyes, all your body will have light.

6:23  But if your eyes are bad, all your body will be in darkness. If the light in you is dark, it will be very dark for you.’

6:24  ‘No man can work for two masters. He will hate one and love the other. Or he will obey one and despise the other. You cannot work for both God and money.

6:25  ‘So, I tell you this. Do not be troubled about what you will eat or drink to keep alive. Do not be troubled about what you will wear on your body. Life itself is worth more than food, and the body is worth more than clothes.

6:26  ‘Look at the birds that fly in the air. They do not plant or cut or keep any food. Yet your Father in heaven feeds them. Are you not worth more than birds?

6:27  Can any one of you live any longer by troubling yourself about these things?

6:28  And why are you troubled about clothes? See how the flowers grow in the fields. They do not work or make cloth.

6:29  I tell you, King Solomon was a great man. But he was not dressed as fine as one of these flowers.

6:30  God dresses the grass in the fields so it looks nice. It is in the field one day and the next day it is put on the fire. If God dresses the grass like that, he cares much more that you have clothes to wear. You do not believe in God very much!

6:31  ‘So then, do not keep asking, “What shall we eat?” “What shall we drink?” and “What shall we wear?”

6:32  It is the people who do not believe in God who work for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need them all.

6:33  ‘Work first for God’s kingdom and what he calls good. Then you will have all these things also.

6:34  ‘So do not be troubling yourself about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own trouble. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’