“Giving”
"Be careful not to do 'good works' in front of others.
Don't do them to be seen by others. If you do, your Father in heaven will not
reward you.
"When
you give to needy people, do not announce it by having trumpets blown. Do not
be like those who only pretend to be holy. They announce what they do in the
synagogues and on the streets. They want to be honored by others. What I'm
about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward.
"When
you give to the needy, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing. Then your giving will be done secretly. Your Father will reward you. He
sees what you do secretly.
Matthew 6:1-4
The
urge to misbehave and the desire to be anonymous always happen at the same
time. Like partners making a sales call, they do their best to convince us that
we can afford to do something wrong because we won’t have to pay.
Human
nature tells us to use the cover of anonymity to avoid taking the blame for the
bad things we do. God, however, tells us something else. He wants us to use
anonymity to avoid taking credit for the good that we do.
When
we volunteer our services or make donations to churches and organizations that
do good work in the name of Jesus, we receive something much better than honor
from our peers.
When we serve in Jesus’ name, He gets the glory.
Our Daily Bread –