Perhaps they have not heard, read or understood the words of Jesus himself concerning acts of public piety, as recorded in the synoptic gospels. Here, from the gospel according to Matthew chapter 6, verses 1 to 34:
| [New International Version 1984] |
Giving to the Needy
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.
3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5“And
when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I
tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
6But
when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your
Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you.
7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Fasting
16“When
you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure
their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they
have received their reward in full.
17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
18so
that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to
your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you.
Treasures in Heaven
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not
destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
23But
if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then
the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24“No
one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and Money.
Do Not Worry
25“Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;
or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than
food, and the body more important than clothes?
26Look
at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in
barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more
valuable than they?
27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifeb?
28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you,
O you of little faith?
31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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