Matthew 6:3-4 records a statement of Jesus:

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

This passage has always made me very nervous. I don’t want anyone to know what I have done, especially when it comes to giving!

So, then, why would I write a post like the one I did last Saturday–Strategic giving? I mean, I got into some pretty fine details! Am I not in danger of disobeying this teaching of Christ?

Randy Alcorn, in his thought-provoking Money Possessions and Eternity, suggests not . . . if my attitude was right. Indeed, he urges us to “share testimonies about giving in order to help the body of Christ grow in the grace of giving.”

The most important verse, the one that sets up the entire passage, is the first: “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ for men, to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1).

The operative phrase is “to be seen by them.”

This is not a prohibition against others becoming aware of our giving, prayers, fasting, Bible study, feeding the poor, missions work, or church attendance. Rather, it’s a command not to do these things in order to receive the recognition of men. Jesus continues, “If you do [that is, if you do good things to win human approval], you’ll have no reward from your Father in heaven.” . . .

Earlier in the same sermon, Jesus says, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise or Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Here we are commanded to let men see our good deeds–tended not to hide them. Giving is a good deed, isn’t it? This passage and Matthew 6 balance each other. There is a time for giving to be seen, but only at the right time and for the right reasons.

We need to stop putting giving in a class by itself. If I give a message on evangelism, biblical interpretation, or parenting, I run the risk of pride. But it may still be God’s will for me to share with the church what God has taught me in these areas. Paul speaks of himself as a model: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). I could write books and do public speaking for the wrong reasons, even though I ask God that this wouldn’t be the case. I could send e-mails with wrong motives, to seek man’s approval, not God’s. But I write books speak and send e-mails anyway, partly because if we were to refrain from doing everything we could do with a wrong motives, we’d never do anything at all. (If your pastor only preached when there was no temptation to pride, he’d never preach.)

If Christ established a principle in Matthew 6:2-4 that other people should never know what someone gives, then the members of the early Church violated it in Acts 4:36-37. There’s no way around it. Numbers 7 lists the names of donors to the tabernacle. First Chronicles 29 tells exactly how much the leaders of Israel gave to build the temple, then it says, “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord” (1 Chronicles 29:9). Philemon 1:7 is likely a reference to Philemon’s generous giving, and 2 Corinthians 8:2-3 is definitely a reference to the Macedonians’ generous giving. As we seek to understand the meaning of Matthew 6:2-4, we must consider the full counsel of Scripture, as revealed in these other passages. . . .

The body of Christ needs to let its light shine before men, and we need models of every spiritual discipline. We dare not let the risk of Arp try to keep us from faithfully disclosing God’s work in this area of our lives. And if we must the silent to avoid our own pride, we should support others who can humbly testify to Christ’s faithfulness in their giving.

God looks at the heart. He alone knows the real motives for our giving (1 Corinthians 4:5). Scripture never says that the giver receives no eternal reward simply because others know about his gift. Donors could be known he gets still have given to please God not men.. . .

We shouldn’t brag about our Bible study, prayer, evangelism, parenting, or giving, but neither should we cover it up. It’s easier for people to follow footprints (what we do) then commands (what we say). If we aren’t willing to openly and humbly discuss our giving, how can we expect to raise up givers? The Church has plenty of examples of consumers–we need to see examples of givers. Hebrews 10:24 tells us to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” We can only be spurred on by what we can see.

–pp. 443, 445-447

So perhaps the point is this: Not, “(Gasp!) Did you tell your story!?!???!” But, rather, “Do you have a story to tell?” And, “If called upon, in order to help others to become more generous, are you willing and able to tell it . . . for their good and not in order to build up your own sense of pride?”

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 13th, 2008 at 7:32 am and is filed under charity, giving, heritage, money, philanthropy, values. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.