It’s A Heart Issue, Part 19, Matthew 6:1-4

Matthew 6:1-4 (NKJV): “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

No one likes a braggart. We all know them, they are the ones that look for approval when they do good for others. Jesus stated here that if you are one of those people, then you will get your reward here.

In Mark 12, we see something rather interesting taking place:

Mark 12:41-44 (NKJV): Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

What He was addressing is that in the temple, the leaders had designed trumpets for the giving boxes. People would come in and drop their “gifts” into these trumpets, and you can tell how much someone gave because of the sound they made. It was sort of a ceremony for some. They would give in a pronouncement, so they would look like they were “generous” to make them look good. However, they were just giving out of their abundance and what they were giving was not really affecting them.

Jesus pointed out this widow gave more than they did because she gave all she had. She was trusting God with everything she had. Would she go hungry if she did this? probably, however, she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She knew that if she gave her all to God, He would take care of her. She gave with no pronouncement of what she was doing, she probably waited until no one was watching. She sis not realize that Jesus was watching her. It didn’t matter to her though, she gave to please God not man.

We need to ask ourselves this, are we giving so we can look good? Are we giving to please God? Where are you building your rewards? We can do things so that we look good in front of others and miss the whole point of why we give. We need to explore our motivation of giving and ask Jesus to check our hearts. He wants us to live a life that is totally surrendered to Him no matter what anyone thinks or says.

Have you given your whole life to Him? Is it because you want to please Him or is it to show off? Reflect on this and ask Him to reveal your motivations.