Thursday, July 09, 2015

We have been considering what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 through the prism of the impact word, “secret.” When Jesus began talking about giving alms to meet the needs of the poor He clearly focused on this impact word, “secret.” Listen to Matthew 6:1-4, “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, 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 men. I tell you the truth, 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.” Jesus was clearly stating that people in general might consider acts of kindness as something good, but looking at those acts through the prism of the impact word, “secret,” God will not necessarily reward those acts. If they are done with fanfare to be noticed and honored by men, they have already received their reward, no matter how shallow or meaningless that may be. When He explained how such acts are to be done he used the hyperbole, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Don’t put more thought into the act than what it takes to do it, so that even you do not need to honor or stroke yourself for the good deed. God delights in rewarding such secret acts.