Greater Damnation or Greater Charity

Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. (Isaiah 58:4)

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (Matthew 6:16)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. (Matthew 23:14)

Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation. (Luke 20:47)

Did you know it is possible to be punished more in hell than others? The way some people understand hell, this would be impossible since everyone would be punished infinitely. But Jesus teaches that those who claim to represent God and be very holy but are not the real thing will be punished more (than those who make no such claims I suppose). Even today there are some circles where you can get praise of men for doing some right things such as fasting. Not many today… but some. In the past there were many people who would praise and reverence you for seeming religious.
There are some people today however who are praised for seeming good, and if the goodness of those people is fake then they will receive the greater damnation (condemnation/ punishment). I am thinking of believers and unbelievers alike who advocate fashionable causes that are promoted as highly ethical and derided as highly idealistic. I would like to be careful to promote things that do much good but are not too impractical. Children in Africa don't really need powdered cows milk, many of them are lactose intolerant anyway. What they need is mothers that do not die of AIDs. What African mothers do not so much need is more medicines for AIDs. They need the security and justice that would protect them from contracting the disease in the first place. You can look very good and be very bad, or look very bad and be very good. I would choose the latter over the former.

So what is a simple gospel truth for this topic?
Do good and you will be rewarded for ever in God's paradise.
If you just do things that will make people like you, why should God give you more reward?

Ask Jesus to make you a good person when nobody is watching. May he transform every one of us.