The Importance of a Change in Practice

In matthew, chapter six, jesus is continuing the teaching of the sermon on the mount. Jesus disciples are supposed to behave in a way that bears witness to the truth of god and the kingdom. And there's a repeated contrast between them and the hypocrites who act to be seen by men. We want to be seen as morally upstanding, to gain social status through these things. By instructing his disciples to pursue their righteousness in secret, the conditions are created for the nurturing of different motivations. The best way to rev l our truest motivations is to begin to starve bad motivations by changing practice.