Matthew 6 : 1-4
1Take 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.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Sometimes as humans we think that if we shout out what we are doing for all to hear that we will be viewed as great or all loving and giving this can give a false sense of security that people actually like or love us for what we tell them we do.
Or on the other hand, have you ever been in a conversation where all your doing is listening to someone tell you all their achievements what they have done, how they got to where they are, who’s foot they trod on to get there, who they have helped and who should be grateful for their help?
Doesn’t it make you frustrated. Personally If we really take this scripture and act on it Gods way we would receive tremendous blessings, why because we are taught through it that ‘what we do is to be done only as an act to be seen by God’ and the word says ‘what you do in secret will be rewarded openly’.
So it’s a personal thing. It’s a secret thing,- we need to become better at following this through.
In that time during bible days it was seen as the godly thing to do for people to support the less fortunate in this way and give to the poor, pray and also fast as the rest of the scripture alludes to.
However the first part of the scripture makes reference to when people were paying their tithes and offering to support the less fortunate and states that people used to make it known who were the biggest donators of time, money or things.
This proclamation or sounding of the trumpets can only really make someone feel proud in their hearts in the wrong way and this does not please God of have the desired impact. The bible says that ‘God despises the proud’, the bible reminds us of this in Prov 16: 5 'Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished'.
So the qestion remains who would you rather live your life pleasing, man or God?
We have to recognise that pleasing God will mean we should not be seeking recognition, status, or the way to success of an ungodly kind because with this mindset comes pride in the heart and it hinders a genuine love walk and acts of charity become pious or religious which noticeably turns people off.
Thinking on this how do you want to be remembered?
Lets take a look at the book of Ruth. Ruth served her mother in law Naomi after the death of her husband while her other sisters in laws returned to their cities to find new husbands and live their lives for themselves Now Ruth could have done the same but she put her needs, wants and desires on hold to stay loyal to her godly duty which was looking after her mother in law. Now that’s an act of kindness,
Ruth says to Naomi "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me. Wow what a powerful expression of a godly character willing to serve, give of herself self relentlessly in order to fulfil her mandate as a wife in honour of her husband and as a daughter in law. Ruth trusted God in this situation totally to be her provider and Chapter 2 of Ruth talks about her gleaning in the field and Boaz the owner seeing her working, he wondered who she was and when he learned her heritage he allowed her total freedom to reap where she had not sown.
Through her kindness and loyalty towards her mother in law Naomi, the door was opened for Ruth to recieve her blessings, she was given every opportunity to become all that she had dreamed, the field owner Boaz took a liking to her and married her and all his became hers.
So the moral of the story is that it is always better to serve and no one know or see what you are doing and as a reminder the word in Matthew says your left hand shoud not know what your right hand is doing.
So when God opens the door for you to receive your blessing it will come at such an unexpected time, in an unexpected way, in an unexpected climate. So when God blesses you undoubtably people will begin to wonder why and how this could be. This then gives you an opportunity to testify of Gods goodness and grace upon your life for what you do in secret he will reward you for openly.
Points to Ponder
1-Loving acts of kindness should be a trade mark of every Christian believer
2-Always do as unto God-that way you will never burn out
3-Never look for man to reward you that way you will less likely to be hurt when things dont go as expected.
4-Always know that what you do in secret, will be rewarded openly by God himself.
Prayer
Lord teach us to serve you and others out of a good heart
Lord let our motives for service be right before you
Let every wrong attitude i may posses be corrected by the power of your Holy Spirit
Lord teach us to depart from every form of evil thinking, speaking and to do good with a willing heart.
Finally Lord teach us to always seek peace and purse it in Jesus Name
Scripture Ref: Matthew 6:1-4 Psalm 34:14. Ruth 1:16-17. Proverbs 16:5
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