You may have noticed that some people live in order to please others. They care a lot about what others think of them, they seek attention, they want to be well seen, popular, admired. The Lord Jesus said, rebuking a group of people who sought this very much, that they were hypocrites, that they would receive harsh judgment for forging an appearance of what they were not. He said in Matthew 23, from verse 5, about the Pharisees: “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.”. They choreographed their attitudes and behaviors, doing charity work in the middle of the square, during rush hour, to be seen, as they knew that many would pass by and notice the attitude. And that inflated their egos. Jesus severely condemned people who did things to be seen by men.
It is easy for us to read this text and condemn the Pharisees, but the truth is that everyone has a small or big Pharisee within them, because they like to show, to appear. They like others to see their supposed qualities, things that sometimes don't even exist.
It is easy to judge the characters of the Bible. But everyone has the desire to be seen by people, to be admired, recognized. How many times have you done a good deed and waited for a jewel in return? Social networks are an excellent example, as people think about what to post to get likes. Are you worried about pleasing others? In being popular and getting admiration from others?
This is too bad for you. You don't do good wanting to be seen, whoever is good doesn't have to do something for others to see. He just does. The person who seeks for approval is insecure because he works to please others. It's impossible to please everyone. Jesus did not succeed, even though he was perfect. It is a futile search.
Perhaps you are already used to the theater, to lies, used to pretending. The person ceases to be himself, he starts to have two faces, he becomes a liar, false, pretended, all because he wants them to think he is a good person in everything he does.
When someone becomes professional in the lie, he begins to believe in his own lies that he tells. How are you going to help a person who is convinced about the lie he created?
Bishop Renato Cardoso