Christian charity. Benevolence. Things God asks us to give to others. Sometimes doing good things in God’s name can cost us a little something. Often, I think about the multitude of things God has given to me and I feel guilty over how little I sometimes want to share with others. It is human nature, isn’t it, to hoard those things which we believe to be ours. But God gives so much to us, I believe, so that we can share with others in need. And, I believe, the more we are willing to share with others, the more God is likely to give to us. He does not give us gifts so that we can be stingy. As Americans, we have so much more than we actually need. One must only go to a third world country once to appreciate just how much abundance we do have.
In Bible times, people lived much closer to poverty than we do now. Most people had less ability to share than we do now and those who were poor were much, much poorer than the poor of our country today. Charity and giving, in those days, were topics of much greater stress and tension.
In today’s text from the Sermon on the Mount, Matt 6:1-4, Jesus speaks to the crowd on the topic of giving. Jesus is speaking here of hypocrites who would give to the poor in front of crowds, in front of the synagogue, or on the streets where they could be seen giving by others. If they were going to make a sacrifice, they were also going to make sure that everyone knew it. They wanted the credit and recognition for being generous so that the whole neighborhood would know that they had done a good thing. These deeds were done for recognition rather than to serve God or help others.
Jesus said that these folks had already received their reward. They had gotten the public recognition that they sought. Our Lord recommended, then, that when we do good deeds before God, that we do them in secret rather than before men. We should be doing for others because of our love for God and our fellow man, seeking to honor God. Jesus said not to let others know what we are doing in these instances. Even though our neighbors do not see what we are doing, God will see it and will reward us for it. We do not need the praise of men.
In this text, Jesus is addressing hypocrisy. God is not honored when we do good deeds for the wrong reasons. Pretending to seek to serve God, we can easily fall into the trap of doing the right things for the wrong reasons. God wants us to love others because He does and to give to the needy because we care for them as He does. Giving to others because we want to be seen doing it does not please or honor God and He will not reward these acts.
In Matt 23:1-12, Jesus speaks of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He begins right off in the beginning by saying that we should not do what they do. They tell men what they ought to do but don’t do themselves the things that they say. They love the fancy rooms at feasts and the prestigious seats in the synagogues. They are all about the recognition. They want to be called rabbi, or teacher. Jesus said to not seek out being called rabbi, or teacher, for Christ is our Master. We are to call no man Father for God in Heaven is our father. And don’t seek to be called Master as we have one Master in Heaven. We should avoid seeking out the honor of titles. God deserves the titles. Jesus is teaching us, here, to be humble. It is not a sin to be called by a title, but craving after titles for the honor they bring us is not the heart’s attitude Jesus wishes us to have. He then teaches that to be greatest among us, one must be willing to be a servant. That is God’s desire for us… humility. Jesus expands on these ideas in Luke 20:45-47.
In Mark 9:35, Jesus addresses the disciples who had just been arguing amongst themselves about which one of them was the greatest. An obvious lack of humility was in the air. Jesus told them that whoever wanted to be first must make themself last… a servant to the others. This is how God sees it. In Matt 20:20-28, the mother of two of His disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked Jesus if, when Jesus came into His Kingdom (Heaven), her two sons could have the seats immediately to the left and to the right of Him. She wanted her sons to have seats of honor in Heaven, when the time came. Jesus told them, of course, that those seats would go to whomever the Father had prepared them. Then, He explained to them that if they wanted to be considered great in Heaven, they would need to become servants, just as Jesus had come to be a servant. He set the example.
Col 3:23-24 tells us that, whatever things we are doing, we should be doing them as if we are doing them for the Lord. Do not do things as if you are doing them for an earthly master, but in all things seek to do a good job as if you are doing all tasks for the Lord. We should be seeking to serve Christ in anything we do, knowing that He is the one who will give us reward for what we have done and the way we have done it. Always bring honor to God no matter what you are doing for whom.
In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus was talking to some folks who thought they were better than others. Jesus told them a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. This parable shows clearly how the Pharisee, who thought himself better, fell way short next to the tax collector, whom everyone would have thought less honorable. The tax collector’s heart was right before God and the Pharisee was judged for his pride. This story of Jesus’ was told in order to teach how God judges a man.
Read the following verses to see what they teach us about giving:
- 2 Cor 9:7
- Deut 15:7-11
- Psalm 82:3-4
- Psalm 113:4-7
- Prov 31:9, 20
- Isa 25:4
- Isa 41:17
- Luke 12:32-34
In Acts 10 we have a story about a man named Cornelius. He was a Roman centurion, but Cornelius had a right heart before God. In fact, we see in this chapter that God sought after Cornelius to convert him to a believer. Read the first 8 verses of this chapter, the beginning of this story, and see how Cornelius’ tendency toward giving to others may have played a part in this man’s life and relationship with God.
God wants us to care about the needs of others and encourages us to give to those less fortunate. He will reward these kindnesses. God also wants us to do these good deeds for the right reasons… for our love of God and others rather than for vain recognition. We should not concern ourselves with furthering ourselves and our status, but rather to have a heart for service of others. Jesus came to earth to serve mankind and wishes for us to do the same. And He rewards the humble.
Responding to God: Praise God and thank Him for all the blessings He has given you. Pray that He will make your heart generous and not stingy. Ask Him to show you His desire for you to serve others and attempt do so without seeking recognition and honor for yourself.
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