Matthew 6:3,4
“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
One of the big surprises for me was to see how humble God is. When Jesus would do a miracle I didn’t understand why He would tell them not to speak of it. I do now. He’s humble and He wasn’t seeking a popular movement. He didn’t want the attention. I thought popularity equated to His will. Not at all. He will do what He needs to do in His time.
Popularity can be of God, a sign of His favor. He is to generate it, not us. We aren’t to toot our own horn. He will give favor in His time. Psalm 23 says, “He prepareth a table for me in the presence of mine enemies”. It’s nice not to worry about it.
We are to give in secret. We aren’t to talk about it. If we do, that is our reward. If we keep quiet, God will reward us. Here and in eternity.
His reward comes to us secretly. It can come with fanfare, but that’s if He chooses to honor us that way. Usually, no. He confirms it to our hearts. All of the sudden we have enough. Look up and whisper praise.
I’ve had giving on my mind lately. I sold a car and got some money. I said to Him in my heart that I would tithe off it. I had three targets in mind. The first two continued to have closed doors. I attempted multipe times. I’ve begun to think God doesn’t want me to give it. I do have a debt to pay down. It can wait, I could still give.
I’ve done two entries this morning. They are both on giving. Not because I chose to, but because the passages warranted it. I’m wondering now if He wants me to give. I don’t know. I’ll wait and pray. Give me wisdom, Lord. I want to do what You want me to do. Help me to be confident about it, so my conscience doesn’t bother me.
Greed is a problem. We endlessly seek to acquire. I’ve heard of a trap to catch a monkey. They put a jar with goodies in it. He puts his hand in and grabs as many as possible. However the jars rim is not big, so his hand won’t come out. It’s in such a compromising position the catching is easy. The analogy translates to us and our grip on things of earth. Our want is so great we are distracted from what God wants us to do. Giving breaks the attraction.
Lord, help us to avoid greed of any sort. Help us to seek You. Help us to be humble and not seek attention of giving gifts.
Lord, thank You for the lesson of giving. You have lifted the selfish weight of it.