(Matthew 6:1-4) "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say until you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." One of the characteristics of a child of God is giving. Christian people love to give to God and Christians love to help their fellow man. You read in the Bible about Christians that were very charitable in their giving. The book of I John says that if we see our brother has a need and we shut up our bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God in us? The Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 8 commended the Macedonian churches for their charitable giving. (II Corinthians 8:2) Giving is the essence of the Christian life. Jesus was the ultimate example when it comes to giving. He healed the sick and raised the dead and multiplied the loaves and fishes at the feeding of the 5000. He gave his life on Calvary's cross to die for the sins of man. He loved man enough to lay down his life for our wicked sins. He's our example. The Apostle Paul mentions in Romans 12:1 that we ought to present our bodies as a living sacrifice before God.
In the first four verses of Matthew 6, Jesus is mentioning about almsgiving and our motives for giving alms. What are alms? Alms are money, food, clothing, etc. that's given to the poor. It's charitable giving. Jesus was saying when you give alms, don't do your alms before men to be seen of them. In other words, don't be ostentatious about your giving. When we give we're to give out of a cheerful heart; not a begrudging heart. There have been people that have given gifts to needy people and to the church and did so with a begrudging heart. Their motivation behind their giving was to be seen and recognized by man. Jesus was saying that we're not to possess that kind of attitude. The Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. God wants us to give out of a gracious heart. He wants us to give remembering what Jesus did for us not only on Calvary but the daily benefits he loads us with. We're to remember how good God is to us and to recognize how unworthy we are of all the blessings that have been bestowed on us. Due to God's goodness in our life, it should motivate us in our desire to give knowing how unworthy we are. When we give with that kind of heart and attitude, the Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. He makes that promise. When we sacrifice ourselves for the cause of Christ and we daily give and it seems nobody notices nor cares, God notices. He will reward us openly if our heart is in the right place.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:2 that when we do our alms we're not to not sound out a trumpet before everyone so they can see we're conducting ourselves as good Christians in fulfilling our duties before God. The Pharisees were a religious group that were hypocrites. All the religious acts they performed they did so with the motivation for being seen by men. The Pharisees were a group that ascended from the Assideans (the pious ones) during the time of the Maccabean Revolt, according to some historians. Pharisee means "separated one." They were a religious sect that paid tribute to certain aspects of the law and they placed a high premium on Levitical purity. The Pharisees were the group that gave Jesus the most problems. Jesus had contempt for them. Jesus was warning to not allow our motives to be that of the Pharisees. Jesus said they did what they did in the synagogues and in the streets so they may have glory of men. Jesus said they have their reward. What was the Pharisees' reward? Praise of men. Jesus said if the motivation of our hearts is to be seen and praised of men when we perform good works or give alms, we have our reward. If our desire is to be praised of men, then the only reward that we'll receive will be the praise of men whether it be verbal praise or a pat on a back. Whatever the praise of man entails, that's our reward.
Christian people will never know what it means to be rewarded of God unless we learn to give out of a cheerful heart. We're to give and not broadcoast to everyone what we've given and how much. When we donate a portion of our money or goods to the poor, we should keep it to ourselves and not make mention of it to our friends. There's a point that quickly needs to be made. Jesus didn't say that if people see you giving a gift to someone or performing good works that the only reward you'll receive will be the praise of man. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 that we should let our light shine before the whole world so they can see our works. It's one thing if people see your good works and know about your charitable giving. Jesus is making mention of the motivation behind our almsgiving. When we give alms and perform good works, we should do it unto the Lord and have our minds focused upon the Lord. We should consider it an honor and a blessing to be able to help someone. God will reward us if the motivation of our hearts are pure. However, if you give alms to the poor and your desire is for men to know how you've sacrificed yourself to help the poor, then Jesus is saying you're as the hypocrites in the streets and synagogues who are ostentatious with their giving. You have received your reward.
I need to make a quick point. Some people might read this and think I'm speaking against seeking approval from your supervisor or whomever you're seeking approval from when it comes to performing a particular job, for example. This is a different scenario. There's nothing wrong with a desire for approval and a compliment from your supervisor when it comes to performing your job properly. There's some people that want to feel they're performing their jobs properly and they desire affirmation from their supervisor. There's nothing wrong with affirmation for doing your job properly under those circumstances. If you work for someone you should desire that the work you perform will make your supervisor well-pleased with you. That's not brown-nosing. We should desire to please those whom we work for. I'm not making reference to this type of situation. I'm making reference to people that are ostentatious or have to publicly display their good works before everyone. They have to inform everyone whenever they give alms or perform a good deed. Their motivation is wrong. When we give, we're to do it discreetly and not make a show of it. God will see your good deeds and will reward you openly for it.
There's nothing more blessed than to be blessed of God because of your faithfulness in giving and serving God. The blessings of God are far better than the praises of men. There's people that are faithful to God and the Lord's opened up the windows of heaven and has rewarded them in ways one can't imagine. I don't necessarily mean always in a material fashion. God's blessings aren't limited to material wealth. But the Bible says that men will give unto your bosom. If we're faithful in the things of God and our motivation for our service isn't for the purpose of being seen of men, He'll reward us openly.
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