Thesis
In Matthew 6:1–4, Jesus warns His followers that pride — a self-obsessed fixation on our own desires and on how we appear to others — can corrupt even our best deeds. Drawing on the stories of Cain and Abel, the fall of Satan, and the Greek concept of telios (perfection as reaching one's intended end), Pastor Hunter Perry argues that humility is the only antidote to pride. True goodness means searching our souls for right motives, doing good simply to be good, and performing acts of kindness in private — trusting that the Father who sees everything will be the only applause we need.
Key points
- 1
Pride corrupts good deeds by replacing God-honoring motives with self-serving ones.
- 2
Jesus uses the word 'perfect' (Greek: telios) to mean reaching our intended end — an attainable goal of completeness in Him, not sinless flawlessness.
- 3
The three symptoms of pride are: living for applause, doing good only to be seen as good, and feeling accepted through attention — illustrated vividly in the story of Cain.
- 4
Pride is not new; it is the sin that got Satan cast out of heaven, and we are most like Satan when we are most prideful.
- 5
The first solution to pride is to search your soul — inviting God to examine your motives through honest, dangerous prayer.
- 6
The second solution is to do good to be good, not to be seen — choosing humility over the applause of the world.
- 7
The third solution is to do good in private, trusting that God — who is always present and sees everything — will reward what no human audience ever witnesses.
Outline
Introduction: The Messy Room
Pastor Hunter uses a childhood story about hiding a messy room from his mom to introduce the idea that the motivation behind our actions matters — setting up the sermon's big idea that pride does the right thing for the wrong reason.
Defining Pride
Hunter distinguishes healthy pride in others from the destructive self-obsession of pride directed inward, framing the passage's central concern as doing the right thing for the wrong reason.
The Text: Matthew 6:1–4 and the Warning
The passage is read and unpacked: Jesus warns that good deeds done for public admiration forfeit any heavenly reward. The spyglass illustration explains telios — perfection as being stretched to reach our full, God-intended end.
Pride Amplified: Social Media and Modern Culture
Using data on depression, self-harm, and suicide spiking around 2012–2013, Hunter argues that the self-obsession amplified by social media is not improving us — it is hurting us — and that pride has become dangerously normalized.
The Eternal Stakes: Satan, Cain, and the Consequences of Pride
Pride is traced from Satan's expulsion from heaven through the story of Cain and Abel, showing three symptoms — living for applause, doing good only to be seen, and feeling accepted through attention — and the catastrophic outcomes pride produces.
Solution 1 — Search Your Soul
Using Psalm 139:23–24, Hunter calls listeners to examine the intentions behind their giving, serving, and church attendance, and to pray the 'dangerous' prayer that invites God to search and redirect their hearts.
Solution 2 — Do Good to Be Good
Drawing on James 4 and the real-life example of 89-year-old pastor Vern Wiggers, Hunter challenges listeners to pursue faithfulness over fame, living quiet lives of obedience that earn not a blue check mark but a heavenly reward.
Solution 3 — Do Good in Private
Jesus' call to give in secret is applied personally: our natural instinct is to display good deeds and hide sin, but Jesus sees both — and He is present in our most private moments not to reprimand us but to love and restore us.
Call to Action and Closing Prayer
Hunter gives a concrete takeaway — do something good for someone this week who cannot repay you, and tell no one — then closes in prayer, asking God to help the congregation do good in private for His eyes alone.
Memorable moments
pride does the right thing for the wrong reason
on our way to perfection, we tend to only want people to see how perfect we look, not who's actually perfecting us
We are most like Satan when we are most prideful
the sin of pride is only identifiable by you and God
a life of pride will only ever care about what the world thinks about you. A life fully submitted to God in humility only ever cares about how God sees you
There is always someone with you in private, and his name is Jesus
Application
Pastor Hunter's challenge is direct and practical: this week, do something good for someone who can do nothing good for you in return — and tell no one about it. This is the antidote to the pride that quietly poisons our motives. Before you act, pray the searching prayer of Psalm 139 and honestly ask: am I doing this to be seen, or simply to be good? Flip the instinct that wants to parade good deeds and conceal sin. Instead, bring your sin and your struggles into the light before God, and let your acts of kindness stay hidden. The reward you are trusting in is not a like, a comment, or a public recognition — it is the Father's eyes, which see everything, and His voice one day saying, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.'
