RELIGION OPERATES IN PUBLIC FOR PUBLIC APPROVAL
Observations about pride and ministry bring to mind the following scriptures that conflict with the business model of religious institutions.

Matthew 6:1-4 NIV 1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

COMMENTARY: Giving money in public is one activity that religious people do to earn praise from other religious people. Perhaps their are no trumpets to announce when a religious professional (pastor, rabbi, evangelist, musician, prophet, apostle, etc.) or a lay person is about to do something religious, but there are public announcements (e.g. bulletin notices, advertisements, emails, etc,) and liturgical practices that create clear public expectations about what religious people will do and when they will do it. And churches and synagogues have well established reputations that reliably predict that religious activity is always on display there for anyone to observe.

The business of religious professionals is to practice their piety (i.e. righteousness) publicly — not in secret, out of view by others. In fact, they are paid to do their work publicly. If they are not public, no one would know that they are religious. And if the public does not know that they are religious and that they are engaged in religious activities, the religious professionals would be considered unspiritual and lose their jobs and/or their financial support.

Prayer is a common example of a public religious activity. The problem with public prayer is that it conflicts with Jesus’ practice of going to a private place to pray. Religious professionals  who do not pray in public would not be valued for their religious piety.

Other examples of religious activity include:

COMMENTARY REGARDING GIVING TO THE NEEDY (POOR):  Giving to the needy should not be interpreted to include only financial giving to those who are financially poor. This is an example of scriptures that can and should be interpreted both literally and symbolically. The preferred interpretation of Matthew 6:1-4 is to give spiritual guidance (i.e. serve as a model warrior and true prophet to those who are spiritually poor. But, it is also consistent with God’s heart that his people would give money and other kinds of assistance to people who are materially poor. But, anyone who provides only this kind of material assistance has missed what is perhaps the most important thing on God’s heart: People who are not able to hear his spoken voice are, in God’s view, spiritually poor.

People who are spiritually poor are poor because they do not have God’s spiritual laws written on their hearts. Having God’s laws written on the heart is the essence of the New Covenant. New Covenant disciples receive the blessings of obedience. Spiritually poor people, on the other hand, are under the curse of religion because they are slaves to religious laws controlled by men.

COMMENTARY ON THE RIGHT HAND AND LEFT HAND: Hardly a thing that a religious professional does as a part of his or her profession goes unnoticed by others. Again, this is by design because those who support him or her expect these kinds of public religious displays from the people they hire or support. And, just in case no one is watching, professionals who have a website or a newsletter boldly and shamelessly report their activities to ensure that current and future supporters know something about what they have been doing to earn their support. Failure to make such reports will result in loss of support and eventual collapse of the ministry. In general, there is no secrecy for religious professionals except when confidentiality is required to protect the identity of those who receive ministry.

Matthew 6:16-18: “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

COMMENTARY: Fasting is given as an example of religious activity that is practiced publicly. The rewards of fasting, along with all other religious activity, are realized when the religious activity is noticed by others. God does not reward public religious activity. Being noticed and praised for being religious is the reward.

Fasting from food, drink and other bodily needs is not what God really wants. See Sabbath, Fasting and Rest for more about spiritual fasting that God recognizes.

Also see these other scriptures about religion doing it business in the public eye:

What we learn from all these scriptures is that God does not approve of religion that is practiced in public view for the benefit of religious people. To appreciate why God feels this way, it is necessary to understand that the Heart is the Place Where God Places His Name. This is consistent with the fact that God lives in a cloud out of public view.