Secret Giving

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

² “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matt 6 ESV

In this passage Jesus instructs His disciples about giving. I am going to make three short observations about what this passage is telling us about God and giving.

The first observation is that giving to the needy is assumed by Jesus. Jesus does not say “if you give to the needy”, He says “when”. This implies His disciples will give to the needy. God cares greatly for the poor. So much so that when we give to the poor the Lord looks at it as if we are giving to Him.  “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” (Prov. 19:17)

The next observation is that our motive matters when giving to the poor. As we will see, there are two different outcomes when giving to the poor. The outcomes are based on the givers motive. One of the basic principles behind our giving is that God cares about our heart’s intent. “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”(2 Cor. 9:7) It is easy to be a cheerful giver when we realize that God gave generously for us. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 9:9).    

The last observation is that there is a reward for giving. Jesus says that there is a reward for giving, whether your motive is good or bad. If you give for the praise of men, then whatever praise you get from them, you will have your reward. But when your motive is right and you give before God to please God, He will reward you for it. Commentators speculate on whether the reward from God comes in this life or the next. It could be more seed to sow (2 Cor. 9: 6-15) or a crown to cast at Jesus’s feet (1 Cor. 9:25, Rev. 4:10). One thing is for sure, God is good and any reward that could come from Him, whenever it comes, is way better than could come from man.