2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” Matthew 6:2-4.
I have always loved this text above because it speaks volumes to me about not taking credit or showing off, about remembering that any good I do in life I have no one to thank but God. It is not about me: it is about God!
Jesus did the same thing. In John 6 Jesus reacts to a huge crowd of people who are following Him, hungry to hear Him preach and to see Him heal. So our of sympathy Jesus feeds this huge crowd, and when He does this by taking five barley loaves of bread and two small Lake Galilee fish and multiplies this meager lunch — and feeds five thousand people — John makes this observation: “14 When the people saw the sign that he (Jesus) had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world’” John 6:14. But consider today the text that follows immediately: “15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself” John 6:15.
If Jesus did not permit others to recognize the good He did and reward Him by trying to make Him king, then surely we have the blueprint in life to follow. The point is this: Any good we do in life we do because God graces us to do this. That is sufficient! That is our reward! And as Jesus says above in Matthew’s Gospel: “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you” Matthew 6:4.
So dear friends, thank God when you do good. Don’t blow a trumpet and show others what you have done, because God knows. And that’s all that matters.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” Galatians 6:9.
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:16.
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness” Psalm 37:3.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for others” Colossians 3:23.
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