"3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
-Matt 6:3-4
Whatever happened to the notion of giving for the sake of giving?" asked Tim Harford, columnist for FinancialTimes. "The closer you look at charitable giving, the less charitable it appears to be." A study of door-to-door fund-raising campaigns, for instance, found that organizations earned far more by selling lottery tickets than by asking for donations.
"This hardly suggests a world populated by altruists seeking to do the maximum good with their charitable cash," says Harford. At least for some people, there’s a something-for-me/something-for-you approach to giving.
Jesus also dealt with the issue of motives in giving. When He said not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, He was teaching that our motives for giving to God and to others must be pure. Our giving should be in response to God’s love. To encourage pure motives, Jesus instructs people to give and to do good deeds in secret with no thought of themselves. God, who sees everything, will reward them (Matt. 6:3-4).
Our generosity should be God-centered—not to make us look good, but to please the Lord. With your next good deed, ask yourself: If I knew that no one would ever find out that I did this, would I still do it?~Devo taken from The Daily Bread Oct 11, 2007~
4 comments:
After reading this devotional, I just thought about all the things that I’ve done to other people, all the times that I’ve helped people and my thoughts at the time of helping them. Most of these thoughts were selfless and more “I’m just doing them a favor and not expecting anything in return”. When it comes to paying for things, I would be willing to pay extra to cover whatever differences there are in the bill…(then I think that Jacky does that too….). Usually I don’t expect to get anything back from it, but other times, I feel that they kinda “owe” me.
“Jesus instructs people to give and to do good deeds in secret with no thought of themselves.”
I sometimes wonder how many times I have tried to do things with the motive that I want to be noticed and I want people to see what I’m doing and praise me for it. It makes me feel bad because the previous verse in Matthew 6:2 talks about how those who give to the needy and announce it, have received their reward in full by men, and not by God. This just reminds me of how humble I need to be when giving to others and to store up treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves cannot steal (Matt 6:19); rather than “investing” in the hearts of people on earth . “For where your treasure is, there your heart is also (Matt 6:21).
Thinking of treasures and investing, I wonder how much time I’ve invested in worldly things such as gaming, dramas, and anime. Just thinking about the time spent on these things, make me feel guilty of wasting my time, and not further expanding the Kingdom of God or even learning more about my personal Lord and Saviour. I guess this is a good reminder of how I should live my life, and spending it accordingly to God. This life of mine is a life that God gave me, and it is by God’s grace that I am here today. So I better spend my time wisely!
Good luck on midterms… my devo response is a lil scattered cause I’m quite stressed about this Accounting midterm coming up Thursday..
-JonTsui
Sometimes when i do a good deed, i think to myself, am i doing this for God or am i doing this to impress myself and/or others. I know i have caught myself doing "good" things so that i can impress a girl. Its silly but sometimes i have done so in the past. Its really selfish and i totally disapprove of it if i saw myself in third person. REBUKE.! =P
I know as students, we sometimes don't have the money to give for offering and kinda understand our unwillingness to do so when the offering bag comes along. I know i sometimes feel ashamed when i don't have money to give and i promise i'll give the money next week, but never happens. Its also a trust factor, knowing if you gave your money, you won't have it for lunch or something like that. Trust in God and know that God provides for all who asks.
-kim
Yes I agree, as students we tend to be a bit more scrupulous with our tithing, but this devo led me to thinking about what we can give outside of the monetary terms.
For example, going out of your way to bring a friend some food, or opening doors for strangers, offering your seat to someone else - these are the simple things... very safe to do.
Going out of your way to have a spiritual conversation with a stranger, now THAT is something else. Investing in people's eternitys... that is crazy stuff.
I remember last month Danielle and I was at a Wendy's in Richmond Hill and we were prepping for my fellowship program... and just by reading the bible in the open, 2 people approached us and we had a couple of great converstations and I think it really brightened up the days of those people.
Even the server at Wendy's was looking for a church and we encouraged him to go back to RHCBC. Whether he did or not the following Sunday, we'll have to see next time we run into him.
Anyway, how any of this relates to "giving", I'm not sure... but somewhere in there is the idea of giving your time in a place that's a couple steps outside your comfort zone.
Have a good one boys.
- Jono
I believe that its human nature to want something back in return when you give something. But we are called to be beyond that. Its not a i scratch your back you scratch mine kind of deal anymore. I think the best way to combat it is to just take joy and enjoyment of the little things. small things like, you get a smile from the person you are giving to, or even a hug. something simple. I rather know that my actions brighten up someone's day. I love it when i can talk to people and they say like, " that really brightened up my day, thank you." THAT, to me, is one of the best rewards. is it monetarily? do i go out seeking it? no. Its just that knowign you made someone else's day, and if you can help someone out with their eternity, even more awesomerest. I know I sometimes have the thought at the back of my mind going, " I'm doing this for someone,they BETTER appreciate it, and do something back for me in return." - Then i come back to the cross, knowing that my Saviour died for me. He saved my life, the most amazing gift of all. I am humbled.
- Jacky
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