Have you ever looked at the world through a frosted glass or frosted window? Perhaps you had those cool colored lenses (blue or red) that you could look at things through? We all have ‘lenses’ through which we view life. The Bible presents two different perspectives: that of the world, and that of the Kingdom. As subjects of the King, we are to adopt Kingdom perspectives. We look at life through the ‘lens’ of the Kingdom. Jesus gave us some of His perspectives in Matthew 6:1-7:12.

Seek rewards from the Father, not from man.

In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus gives us three examples that illustrate this first perspective. These three examples focus on the three Jewish acts of piety: alms giving, prayer, and fasting. In each case, Jesus warns, “When you,” instead of “If you.” He presupposes that subjects of God’s Kingdom will practice these things. So, His guidelines are on how they are to be practiced.  He uses the same structure for each example:

• When you …. do not be like the hypocrites. He first lays out the perspective of the world. Give to be seen (so you can give and get more)! Pray and fast publicly to show how spiritual you are! This, He says, is wrong. Those who practice these things with these attitudes have received their reward–whether money, fame, influence, or praise of men. That’s all they get.
• But when you…. Jesus then turns to His perspective on the practice. Give in secret. Pray in your closet. Do not proclaim your fast publicly. The point is not that we are to do them “in secret,” as though hiding. The emphasis is on the motive for doing them–the attitude of the heart.
• And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. In each case, Jesus declares that the Father will see the attitude of the heart and reward the practitioner with an eternal reward, instead of an earthly, temporal reward.

By the way, Jesus says, those treasures that men seek after on earth are vain and temporal things and will be destroyed by moth and rust or taken by thieves (or simply left to someone else when we die!). In verses 19-24, He makes the point that the treasure one seeks after shows where his heart is. Those whose hearts are set on the Kingdom will receive the Kingdom rewards, which do not perish or pass away.

Trust the Father to take care of you.

While some people seek after earthly things for the sake of those things and the power or fame that accompanies them, others seek after things because they feel, “If it’s going to happen it’s up to me!” When we have this attitude, we show that we do not trust God to take care of us. Jesus makes a logical, yet compassionate argument to show that the Father already knows what we needs–and He will take care of it!

• He points out the natural world. The birds do not sow or reap, yet the Father feeds them. The lilies of the field (there were probably some even around where He sat, a handy visual aid) did nothing or provide for themselves (“they neither toil nor spin [cloth]”), yet Jesus pronounces that even Solomon in all his grandeur and glory was not arrayed like them. The Father takes care of the lilies. 
• Then He reminds them (and us!) that we are worth far more than the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, which are here today and wither and die tomorrow. So then, why should we worry? The Father already knows what we need, and as we set our minds on the Kingdom, He will take care of us.

Lest we misunderstand, Jesus is not telling us not to pray. He has already assumed that we will pray and ask for things (vv. 9-13, the Disciple’s Prayer). He further tells us to ask for what we need and want. The only negative command He gives is do not be anxious. Do not worry. To pray does not imply that we are worrying. In fact, Jesus tells us to ask the Father for things, both wanted and needed (hence the term “gifts” instead of just what we need). The Father, being good and gracious will give us good things (7:7-11).

Be careful how and when you judge.

• Judge not, lest you be judged (7:1). This is perhaps one of the most often-quoted, as well as the most often mis-quoted, verses in the Bible. Jesus is not throwing a blanket ban on any kind of judgments. In order to exercise His other commands, it is necessary to make judgments. He presupposes some judgment when He says, “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you” (v. 2). The question is not if judgment is to be made, but what kind of judgment.
• If we are not merciful, then mercy will be denied us. If we are merciful then we will be shown mercy (5:7).
• If we show hatred and contempt, then we will be in danger of judgment (5:22).
• If we are not meek (gentle and kind), but proud, harsh, or vindictive, then we will be judged accordingly (5:5, 9; 6:14-15).

The main point is that neither you nor I are perfect. We will not be perfect until we are called home. We are to extend and receive grace to and from each other as we journey together. In the end, the way we want to be treated is the way we should treat others. I want others to show me grace. Therefore, I will extend grace to my brother or sister, while encouraging them to continue growing in Christ. I want others to be kind toward me and others, so therefore I will do the same.

When we learn to live life through the lens of the Kingdom, we have taken one more step to becoming like our King, which is, after all, our ultimate goal.