Clickbait Religion: Why Jesus Condemned Religious Performance
- Bob Hayes
- Sep 12
- 5 min read
In a world obsessed with image curation and social validation, Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6 cuts straight to the heart of authentic spiritual living. His words challenge not just our actions, but the very motives that drive them.
The Danger of Clickbait Religion
“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:1
Jesus opens this section of His mountainside teaching with a stark warning against what we might call “clickbait religion”—religious practices performed primarily to capture attention and admiration. In His time, religious leaders would literally sound trumpets before making charitable donations, creating grand processions to showcase their generosity. Today’s equivalent might be the perfectly crafted charity selfie or the strategic social justice statement designed to boost our moral credentials.
Think About This: When you last did something kind or charitable, what was your first impulse afterward? Did you want to share it, talk about it, or make sure someone noticed? Be honest with yourself—there’s no judgment here, just awareness.
The underlying issue isn’t the charitable act itself, but the motive driving it. When our religious practices become performances designed to accumulate spiritual “likes,” we’ve fundamentally misunderstood what God desires from us.
God Doesn’t Fall for Clickbait
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day believed their public displays actually earned divine favor. They operated under the assumption that external performance could compensate for internal dysfunction—that God, like their human audience, would be impressed by their shows of goodness.
What Would Your Response Have Been: Imagine you’re living in Jesus’ time and you see a religious leader making a grand, public donation with trumpets and fanfare. Would you have been impressed? Would you have thought, “That’s what a godly person looks like”? How might this have shaped your understanding of faith?
Jesus shatters this illusion. The God He reveals doesn’t need our performance theatrics. He sees who we truly are behind closed doors, and remarkably, He loves us there too. This isn’t a God who falls for clickbait; He’s after something far more profound than our curated spiritual image.
The Inside-Out Revolution
At the core of Jesus’ teaching lies a revolutionary principle: authentic transformation begins from within. All efforts to change ourselves externally—polishing our behavior, perfecting our religious practices, crafting our spiritual image—cannot touch the deeper issue of the heart.
Think About This: Consider someone you know who seems genuinely kind and giving. What is it about them that feels authentic versus performative? What makes the difference between someone who “acts nice” and someone who simply is nice?
As Jesus taught elsewhere, we can clean the outside of the cup while the inside remains full of selfishness and dysfunction. True spiritual wellness requires an inside-out transformation that only God can accomplish.
The Secret of Secret Giving
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:3-4
Jesus isn’t prohibiting all public acts of charity. Rather, He’s calling us to examine our motives. The phrase about not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing suggests a level of secrecy so complete that we don’t even congratulate ourselves internally.
What Would Your Response Have Been: If you were one of Jesus’ followers hearing this teaching for the first time, how would you have felt? Relieved that you didn’t have to perform publicly? Confused about how to practice your faith? Challenged to examine your own motives?
This isn’t about earning spiritual points through secret giving. It’s about discovering what genuine, heart-driven generosity feels like when stripped of all external validation. When we give without seeking recognition—from others or even from ourselves—we create space for authentic transformation to occur.
The God Who Sees Everything
The beauty of Jesus’ teaching is that it reveals a God who is both all-seeing and all-loving. He knows our struggles, our mixed motives, our failures to live up to our own ideals. Yet instead of demanding perfection, He offers transformation.
Think About This: How does it feel to know that God sees you completely—your kindest moments and your most selfish ones—and loves you the same? Does this feel freeing or frightening? Why do you think you respond that way?
This God doesn’t require us to perform our way into His favor. He gives freely because He is genuinely concerned with our wellbeing. His acts of kindness and compassion aren’t motivated by self-glory but by pure love for others.
Authenticity Over Performance
What Jesus offers isn’t a system of religious performance but a fundamental change of heart. He’s after creating people who are consistent—the same behind closed doors as they are in public. Not perfect, but authentic. Not flawless, but genuine.
What Would Your Response Have Been: Picture yourself as someone who has been trying to earn God’s favor through good works and public displays of faith. How would hearing Jesus say “God loves you as you are” change your daily life? What would you do differently?
This consistency isn’t about maintaining an impossible standard of perfection. It’s about becoming people whose good deeds flow naturally from a heart that has been transformed by divine love, rather than from a desire to manage our image or earn approval.
The Beautiful Life
When we allow God to reshape our hearts from within, something beautiful emerges. Our giving becomes an overflow of gratitude rather than a strategic move for recognition. Our kindness springs from genuine care rather than calculated image management. Our spiritual practices become opportunities for authentic connection with God rather than performances for human audiences.
Think About This: Imagine living with no audience to impress—not even God, because you already have His love. What would you do? How would you treat the people closest to you? What would your daily rhythms look like?
This isn’t just about individual transformation. As Jesus taught, when people see this authentic beauty—not religious performance, but genuine love in action—they’re drawn to God themselves. Hearts are changed not through impressive displays of spiritual superiority, but through encounters with people who radiate the humble, generous love of God.
The Circle of Divine Love
At its core, the spiritual life is about participating in what we might call the “circle of divine love.” God, as the fountain of life, pours His love into us. As we receive this love, it naturally flows out to others, creating a sustainable cycle of giving and receiving that reflects the very nature of the kingdom Jesus came to set up.
This framework of giving creates not just individual wellness but the foundation for a flourishing civilization—one built on authentic love rather than competitive performance.
Think About This: Consider a time when someone showed you unexpected kindness with no apparent motive except care for you. How did that impact you? How might you be that person for someone else this week?
Reflection Questions (SMAR)
SEE the Beauty of God:
How does the image of God as one who gives without seeking recognition or reward change your understanding of divine love?
What do you find most attractive about a God who loves you fully knowing who you really are behind closed doors?
MEDITATE on What You See:
When you consider Jesus’ teaching about secret giving, what emotions arise? Fear, freedom, conviction, hope?
How might your life look different if your good deeds flowed from gratitude rather than a need for approval?
ACCEPT It as Your Very Own:
What would it mean for you personally to embrace the truth that God’s love isn’t earned through religious performance?
REST Daily in the Rhythm of God’s Love:
What simple, secret acts of kindness could you practice this week without telling anyone?
How can you create daily rhythms that remind you of God’s unconditional love rather than your need to earn approval?
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