When was the last time you did something to be seen? Maybe it was a post carefully crafted to present the best version of yourself, a story that subtly elevated your image, or even an act of service done with an eye toward recognition. There’s something in all of us that longs to be noticed, to earn approval, to matter in the eyes of others. But living this way is exhausting. Constantly curating an image, constantly wondering if we’re enough—it wears us down. And into that tension, Jesus places a mirror before us, contrasting two fundamentally different ways of living: one driven by appearance and human applause, and the other marked by quiet, wholehearted devotion to God.

He begins with a warning about the scribes—religious leaders who built their lives around being seen. Everything about them was intentional: their clothing, their positio ...