Loving Others with Your Private Time
INPUT – what Scriptures in God’s Word help us answer the question, “Does a person’s private life really matter?
1. Our Goal
INPUT – what is our goal in life?
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2. The Importance of What Our Private Time Reveals
Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
16 “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.
INPUT – what did you notice in Matt. 6:1–6 and 16–18 that was repeated?
INPUT – based on the repeated phrases and words, how would you summarize the main point of this section?
INPUT – what’s the difference between the hypocrite and the person Jesus wants us to be in this passage?
“To discover the real you, look at what you spend time thinking about when no one is looking, when nothing is forcing you to think about anything in particular.”[1]
3. Loving Others in Your Roles with Your Private Time
a. Role of Husband
INPUT – what was or is a common complaint about you that your wife has addressed with you on more than an occasional basis? FOLLOW UP QUESTION: And how would using your private time differently help address that complaint?
b. Role of Father
INPUT – as a father, what are challenging part of raising your children that would be helped significantly if you used your private time more wisely?
c. Role of Employee
INPUT – no matter what job you have, how does the use of your free time impact your job performance?
d. Role of Church Member
INPUT – how does the choices you make throughout the week, and the decisions you make on Saturday afternoon and evening impact your ability to serve your church family?
[1] Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (Dutton, 2014), 22.
