When you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Matthew 6:3-4 NKJV
Amid a series of teachings that came to be known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs people to avoid flaunting their generosity. Instead, the heart of our generosity must be focused on the goal of pleasing God. In this way, Jesus promises that we will be rewarded by our heavenly Father.
What is the motivation for your generosity?
Too often, external pressures or sinful desires direct our kindnesses toward others.
We might feel pressured to participate in our church’s weekend food drive because we’re afraid that others will judge us if we stay home. We might enjoy the warm glow of praise we receive when we organize a fundraiser for a friend in need more than the act of helping them. Or we might think that giving a certain amount of money to a worthy organization will somehow buy God’s favor.
Throughout his teaching, Jesus is clear that generosity itself is not our main goal in life, and it cannot make us right with God. After all, the Pharisees were seen as extremely generous and morally upright. But Jesus called them whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27–28).
Instead, generosity is an outpouring of God’s love in our hearts. We can give generously because we know how much we have been given in Christ. We can trust God with our finances, time, talents, and resources because we know that he provides everything we need. And we can give generously without any human praise because we know that it is God who offers the true reward for Christ-centered generosity.
