“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.“  So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 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. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:1 – 4

Last Friday our community set the day as a Great Give Day or something like that.  The idea was to urge people to give to some 400 local charities that help the poor.  At last report I understand they raised a total of over $7,000,000!  I should say, “We” because we joined in and gave, with the promise that our amount would be doubled!

One way to judge a community, a family or a person is to note their giving. Giving was way at the top of Jesus’ list, not giving to be admired or even noticed, but to give because that is what the Lord wants us to do.

I am not sure what motivates our community here in Lancaster to give.  For many it is a true sacrifice or offering of thanksgiving and praise to a loving and merciful Father in heaven.  For some, it may have a touch of “self” on it but it is still better to give than to grasp.  God sorts out the motive.

As to the giver, I chuckle when I see the simile that Jesus used, 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. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  I see what He is getting at.  We should not give to be praised for our generosity.  In fact, we should not even tell our left hand what our right hand is giving!  That is some fete. But we should surely try!  Giving is not an option for the followers of Jesus who gave his all for us, it is simply what we do.  So be it.  We seek no reward, just rejoice that we have a little or much to give.

The center of worshipful giving is Jesus, not us.  Jesus in us is the “giver.”