Examine Your Motives in Good Deeds and Giving

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.  Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.  Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” –Matthew 6:1-4 (ESV).

Jesus enters a period of His teaching which develops the theme of living the Christian life in the real world.  He warns that practicing righteous acts, giving to the needy and praying can, if the disciple is not careful, inadvertently or deliberately call attention to the doer so that he does these acts of Christian righteousness and piety to be seen of men and to receive praise from men.  He warns strongly against being hypocritical in behavior and in good deeds.  Public acts of obedience are honorable, but if they are done merely to be seen of men, then there is no reward from the Father in heaven. 

To be a hypocrite—pretending one is something he is not—uses the Greek word for “play-acting,” or wearing different masks, as on a stage, in order to be seen in the role of various characters.  We can do the right thing for the wrong reasons, and thus be a hypocrite.  The Pharisees were known for making public ado about their giving.  This public show of their charity was the only reward for their giving, for the Father in heaven was certainly not pleased with their calling attention to their gifts and generosity.  The only reward they will receive is the public acclaim they seek for their action. 

“Let not your left hand know what your right hand does” is a metaphor for secrecy in giving.  The best Jewish thought held to giving alms without boasting or making public what the gift was.  In the Temple alms boxes were placed strategically to provide charity gifts for widows and orphan children and other needs of the Jewish community.  Most of the givers did not make a public outcry of how much they gave, and that was good.  Those who tended to proclaim their generosity for the adulation of men were condemned by Jesus.  Our motives for giving are always open to God.  We should give from an open, willing heart, and that not for praise from our fellowman, or for bragging purposes of how much we gave.  Now with our income tax returns requiring that we show proof of our gifts to charitable and authentic religious causes, we know that those who are accountants of such funds know what we give.  As we say, “times have changed,” and we have to comply with the laws of our land.  But even in our modern means of accounting for our gifts, we can still have a good conscience, one that does not seek adulation of men, but seeks the approval of God who looks on the heart and knows whether we give willingly and cheerfully.