Matthew 6:1-4 Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 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. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
On the surface it almost seems as if there is a contradiction in the words of Jesus. In Matthew 5 he challenges us as Kingdom citizens to be the light of the world and let our good works shine like a lamp in the middle of a room so that people will see them and glorify the Father in heaven. However, chapter 6 opens up with three illustrations of good works that should be done in secret, even to the point where our right hand doesn’t know what our left hand is doing. Is there a discrepancy here?
Not really. It comes down to who the focus is placed on. Think about the phrase “ let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). If the glory is going to go to God when visible good works are done, there has to be some method to ascribe these works to God so he gets the credit. In order words, if were doing something to benefit others we are responsible for letting them know in some way that the motive is not our goodness or humanitarianism, but the action has its roots in God. The goal is ultimately they don’t say thanks to us, they say it to God.
Chapter 6 pictures a person with completely different motives. They do their actions in a public way so they get the credit. They are not even thinking about God getting the honor. It’s all about the show. “To be seen by others” is the motive.
It is an interesting picture that Jesus paints when he says, “Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing when you give to help others.” Is that possible? I have had people approach me over the years saying we should not take public offerings because not even the right hand should know what the left hand is doing. I have often had the suspicion that, in the case of some of these persons, their right hand would be terribly embarrassed if they knew what little amount the left hand was giving!
I recently have been re-reading The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. It is regarded as a classic on understanding what authentic faith is really about and it mainly is a discussion of the Sermon on the Mount and how we are to live it in practical expression. As he describes this idea of the left and not knowing what the right hand is doing, he puts a very interesting perspective on it. His focus is that generous giving, rather than giving for the praise, should become such a natural part of us that we don’t even know what we are doing – i.e. one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. It is such a natural habit that we don’t even think about it.
Have you ever picked up something to take it with you and then set it down and for the life of you can’t remember what you did with it? You have to re-track your steps and look all over to find that item. Your right hand could ask your left hand, “Do you know where I laid that thing?” But your left hand would say, “Beats me, I wasn’t paying attention to what you were doing.” As far as your left hand knows it was something done in secret.
I pray that my life as a Kingdom Citizen can become so automatic that my acts of righteousness just flow from my life without any though of who is watching, even to the point that if someone were to draw my attention to what I had done I would be surprised. “Did I do that?”
0 comments:
Post a Comment