When You Give

 Matthew 6:3,4
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth…That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

When you give your resources to help someone, don’t go around bragging about it. Let your giving be done without fanfare. God sees your heart, and sees your sacrifice. He knows the motive of the heart is to show kindness and your desire to support the work of the Kingdom. In His own time, He will award you for what you do for others. Give to please God, and not to please man.

Praises of Men

Matt 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

We all like to be recognized for a job well done. Appreciated by others when we go out of our way to perform a good deed. But Jesus says to take inventory of your motives. Are your works of kindness done for the purpose so that other will give you praise and applaud your virtues? Some extol their generosity and speak freely of the gifts they bestow to the church, or all the work they do for the church. All is good and God is pleased when we give and work to keep the church doors open, but we are to do so because it is in our heart to work for His kingdom. Let us guard our words and thought and heart against bringing praises to ourselves, and do all things for His praise and glory.

Be Seen of God

Mat 6:1 “Take heed that ye do not your almsgiving before men, to be seen by them; otherwise ye have no reward from your Father who is in Heaven”- 

Motivation is key to sincerity. For what purpose do we give and do acts of kindness. Human nature of man desires to be recognized for their accomplishments, for things that bring good to the community. But the warning is given by Jesus to be careful that we don’t fill our hearts with pride and desire the praise of men by the good works we accomplish. It is better to hide our identity and give as unto the Lord and not to man. We must live our lives to glorify Him and let others see what God can do and not what we can do. Giving or doing things to be seen of men does not come from a heart that is totally submitted to God. A heart that is given to God will do all things that He may be lifted up. Do it unto God, and not unto men.