The Secret Giver
Do what you do for the Lord, not for men. I remind myself of this principle constantly. It is so easy to want recognition for what we do and what we give. Just this morning, I had to chastise myself. My husband and son made a big deal about how our 15-year-old foster daughter had deep cleaned the bathroom. They thanked her so much and made sure they told her how nice it looked and smelled. That little green monster of jealousy popped up as I thought about all the rooms I scrub on a daily basis. No one ever notices when I clean the bathroom (unless for some reason I don’t get it clean). Then I remembered, we do what we do for the Lord and not for praise or recognition. It is my honor to provide a clean home for my family, why then do I think I need to be praised? I found my answer two minutes later when my 2-year-old daughter helped clear the table of breakfast dishes and I quickly lavished her with praise and thanks for being a good helper. We are programed from birth to seek praise and rewards. This is the same reason why my dogs still believe they get a treat for going outside and going potty though they have been house broken for almost ten years. Rewards and praise are great motivators.
As much as we all like to hear that we are doing a good job and receive recognition for the work we do, Jesus warns us not to give charitably in the view of others. In fact, Jesus tells us to not even tell our left hand what our right hand is doing. In other words, don’t dwell on the good you do. Instead, praise God for His provision that enables you to give to others. The difference is our perspective. When we announce to the world that we have donate something to a needy person, we are focusing on ourselves. We are praising our own generosity. It is not a sacrifice, or an offering, if we are being reimbursed through adoration or respect. Any type of payment, even an emotional payment, lessens the gift from a love offering to a transaction. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t show our appreciation for what others do for us or give to us. Nor does it mean we should refuse or reject any such offerings of thanks. What Jesus is talking about, what he has been talking about through this entire sermon, is checking our motivation.
Sometimes God rewards us immediately for our faithfulness. Sometimes He delays that reward but inevitably we see it. Then there will be other times when no one ever seems to know or care about the work we do or the sacrifice we make. In all of these situations, we must learn to rejoice in the Lord. If we are always expecting a pat on the head and a ‘good boy’, we become reward motivated instead of love motivated. God teaches us to seek Him and His approval above all else. When the reward we seek is the approval of God, we will never be tempted to sin in an attempt to please men. Give generously because that is copying the nature and character of our Lord. God lavishes His blesses upon us even though we don’t deserve it, we don’t always even acknowledge it, and we can never pay it back. This is the attitude God wants us to copy. Remember, 2 Corinthians 8:14 tells us, “At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.”
We give because we trust that God will provide what we need to fill in the gap. We give because we were created in the image of a giving God. We give so that God can be glorified through our actions and His love displayed through our lives. When we give so that we can see a reward, all those benefits disappear. So, give because the gift is needed. If we see a way to help that we can provide and ignore it, do we not sin? If we take credit for what the Lord has done, have we not also sinned? Before we give, let us examine our heart and study our motivation. Let us first get these things in line with God and then we will see that gift go farther than we could ever have imagined.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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