This week, we're going to revisit some of the best posts from January 2011, well over a year ago. These posts may be old, but they still have a lot of value in them. We're going to spend this week studying some valuable principles from Matthew 5 & 6. We'll start off the week by studying about our Acts of Righteousness. We'll also study about being fishers of men, and being salt. This will be a great week of studies.
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us some important principles concerning how we act of Christians. You see, Jesus saw that the religious leaders, the Pharisees, of His day looked at themselves as being close to God. In reality, they were far from Him. In this chapter of Scripture, Jesus talks about they way we act in three areas: Giving, Praying, Fasting. This week, we'll look at them and see how God expects us to act in those areas.
We'll start with Giving. Look at the verses I listed above. Notice how He starts off verse 2. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the street, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.(NIV)." When we are giving of our finances, whether in church or to help a homeless beggar on a streetcorner, we should do it in secret, not drawing attention to ourselves or the act. You see, the Pharisees and religious leaders would announce what they were doing. They would drop their coins in the plates so it would make the most noise, they would give only when they would be seen by people. They did that because they loved the praise of man. They liked people to look favorably on them, putting them on a pedestal. Look at the end of verse two, see what Jesus said about that kind of attitude. "Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." When they stand before God, they will not be rewarded the second time, they already got it. They received their reward through the praises of God. I don't know about you, but I would rather have God look on me favorably rather than man.
Verse 3&4 reveals to us how Jesus expects us to give. "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.(NIV)." Notice His words. When we give, do it in secret. Don't give to the church or to a streetcorner beggar to be seen by people. Don't do it to draw attention to yourself or your act of kindness. Instead, do it in secret, so that God can reward you.
How is your act of giving. Do you give large amounts only to have people adore you and put you up on a pedestal? Do you give to the needy only because you look like a Christian when you do it? Or, do you do it to bring glory to God. How is your attitude towards giving? Think about it.
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