1 “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.2 “So when you Lit make a charitable gift give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they will be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3But when you Lit make a charitable giftgive to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:1-4
The Well Off crave their Heavenly Father to see them as fully mature more than anyone else.
Tooting Your Own Horn
People gave into a metal trumpet looking structure. It would be a lot like the giving kiosks at the mall where kids sit mesmerized by the coin going round and round all the way down.
The religious leaders took this as an opportunity to sling their metal coins into the metal trumpet. A lot of metal coins. This way everyone heard how generous they were.
Most people today don’t stand up in church service and announce loudly they’re going to give and how much they will give. This doesn’t mean we don’t still toot our own horn.
We crave the dopamine hits of “Atta boy/girl!” We want people to see us as fully mature. So we will find ways to make sure other people know how fully mature we are through our generosity.
Being a socially responsible company is a marketing strategy. Give one when someone buys one. Renewable resourced & energy. Percentage goes to charity.
All good things. But is it because you want people to see your leadership as fully mature? Or because you want to do the right thing?
Invisible Righteousness
People’s praise will come and go. They’ll move on to the next best and brightest thing. The dopamine hit you get from their praise will become a withdrawal when they go away.
Your Heavenly Father placed your righteousness inside you.
The righteousness you do in secret is seen by your Heavenly Father.
Your Heavenly Father rewards in secret for the gifts given in secret.
Also, Jesus gives the agency of generosity to the poor. The implication in the sound of many coins going through the trumpet is “Why bother with your piddly little gift. Mine is the one that matters.” Jesus flips generosity on its head. Generosity is of the heart, not the numbers. A small gift can out shine big gifts.
Does Jesus say never give where people know? I don’t think so.
But if our giving is only for other people to see, our only reward will be the flighty “Atta boy/girl” of others.
How are you generous in ways only your Heavenly Father can see? You never know how he will work in secret through our gift given in secret.
Prayer: God, allow your “Well done my child” be enough for me so that I will give in secret.
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