Don't Do Your Good Deeds Publicly To Be Admired By Others
Trust God And Do Good
MATHEW 6:1-4
“”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.
”Matthew 6:1-4 NKJV
https://www.bible.com/114/mat.6.1-4.nkj
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My beloved , we believers are to ““Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness (PSALM 37:3).
That is to say, trust God with our own personal needs, and reach out to help others for their needs.
But here Jesus, by telling us to “not let our left hand know what your right hand is doing” is telling us to guard our motives.
It’s easy to give when you know you will receive something you want in return. But it’s not so easy when one can’t see a reward.
Our motive for reaching out to others must be out of pure selfless love for Christ and His people.
We can choose to do our charitable deeds before men and feed from recognition, pride, and other forms of payment like the hypocrites do, or we can choose instead to do our good deeds out of love and feed on His (God’s) faithfulness (PSALM 37:3).
To be sure our motives are God-centred rather than self-centred, we should do our good deeds in secret, for God sees everything and will reward you above anything you can imagine. Not necessarily with material blessings of this world, but if your motives are right, He will reward you openly.
Therefore, my brethren, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalms 37:4 NKJV
Jesus tells us to check our motives in three areas: generosity (MATHEW 6:4), prayer (6:6), and fasting (6:18). Those actions should not be done to glorify oneself, but rather to glorify our Father in heaven.
But It all starts with faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 NKJV
To trust God is to have faith in Christ, to trust in His faithfulness and His promises as written in his Word regardless of circumstance.
To do good is to use one’s God given blessings and time to reach out to the lost and needy; to love one’s neighbour as oneself, and make others needs as important as one’s own.
Therefore, If one is hungry, feed him, if he thirst, give him a drink.
But when you give, be wise and give not from your emotions, but only by the leading of the Holy Spirit, for a fool and his money are quickly parted.
To give foolishly may drag oneself into poverty and can undermine God’s work in others.
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:5-6 NKJV
“”Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matthew 6:31-34 NKJV
All glory to God forever and ever? Amen.
