The Heart of Giving

I don’t know if you will take this as good news or bad news, but Christmas is only ten weeks away. That may come as a bit of a shock since we haven’t even gotten through Halloween yet, but it is reality. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Not only is it usually a bit cooler outside, but Christmas has some of the best sights and smells any holiday can offer. Goodbye pumpkin spice, and hello hello balsam, peppermint, cinnamon, you name it. Goodbye skeletons, zombies, and Chucky dolls, and hello Christmas lights, candy canes, and nativity scenes. The Christmas spirit is centered around giving, and how I wish every year that spirit would never leave.

Well, I’m not preaching Christmas too early in the year, but we are talking about the heart of giving this morning. In the next section of the sermon on the mount, Jesus has not quite left the theme of contrasting the behaviors of his followers with that of the religious leaders of the day. Rather than comparing interpretations of the law, he is now turning his attention toward practice. There are three practices in chapter six of Matthew he will focus on: giving, praying, and fasting.

Let’s take a look at the first four verses this morning.

Matthew 6:1–4 NASB95

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Verse one of chapter six provides a thesis statement. It is a word of caution to Jesus’ followers about doing acts of kindness for the purpose of garnering attention from other people. The astute reader of the sermon on the mount, however, will remember Jesus saying in Matt. 5:16:

Matthew 5:16 NASB95

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

So on the one hand, Jesus wants his followers to allow others to see our good works, but on the other hand he does not want us to let people see what we are doing. In verse four of chapter six he calls us to let our giving be done in secret. But there is a subtle difference in these two statements that is critical for understanding what Jesus is saying. Did you catch it?

Let’s unpack this for a minute.

Good deeds for God are a direct outflow of your fellowship with God.

There would have been nobody in Jesus’ audience who would disagree with the fact that they were supposed to give to the poor. That is not the issue. Everyone, especially the Pharisees, knew that giving to the poor was something that honored God. What you need to understand is how you give and what you give is a direct outflow of your fellowship with God.

If your relationship with God is shallow, you are less inclined to live sacrificially. Your time is still your time. Your money is still your money. Your talents are still your talents. The closer you walk with God, then the more your time becomes his time, your money his money, your talents his talents. When you lack intimacy with God, you become more self-centered. The greater your intimacy with god, the more you become selfless.

There are two ways you foster a close relationship with God: Prayer and reading His Word. As I have been studying the life of Jesus, I am constantly marvelled at the humanness of Jesus and his total dependence on the Father. We get this idea that because Jesus is God, he was completely dependent on himself. He wasn’t. He was completely dependent on God the Father for everything.

John 5:19 NASB95

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

John 5:30 NASB95

“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

John 8:28 NASB95

So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.

John 12:49 NASB95

“For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

I have been reading a book on prayer called A Praying Life by Paul Miller. While the subject is prayer, I want you to hear how he writes about Jesus’ dependence on the Father and the closeness of that relationship.

Jesus is, without question, the most dependent human being who ever lived. Because he can’t do life on his own, he prays. And he prays. And he prays.” -Paul E. Miller

Everything Jesus said and did was a direct outflow from his relationship with God the Father. We are called to live just as Christ lived, in total dependence on God for everything, committing to do everything he says to do, and saying everything he says to say.

Ephesians 2:10 NASB95

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Our good works are a direct outflow of our relationship with God.

Who you seek to glorify always matters.

Let’s go back to our two seemingly conflicting commands. In Matt 5:16 Jesus says to let our light shine in such a way that others will see our good works and glorify God. The command in Matt 6:1 says to beware of practicing our righteousness before men, but the difference here is critical. The next five words say, “to be noticed by them.” In other words, who we seek to draw attention to matters. Are we seeking to glorify God, who is the producer of the good works in us, or are we glorifying self so we can receive the praise of men? Jesus says if it is the latter, you have your reward. Instead, give to the poor so your right hand doesn’t know what your left hand is doing. In other words, do not draw attention to yourself.

We live in a generation where everyone lives with a camera in their pocket. Social media has made it possible to share anything we record on our cell phones instantly with the rest of the world. This has brought both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, you can speak live to your loved ones anywhere in the world. On the other, there is a lot of trash being uploaded. You never know what is real. You never know what one’s motives are.

One thing that is popular to do is to record yourself doing a good deed. This has generated mixed feelings and sparked a debate. An article I read called it the kindness paradox. Jesus is criticizing those who made a show about giving to the poor as a way of attracting praise from others. They were flaunting their righteousness, which wasn’t righteousness at all. Today, the question is this: Does recording an act of kindness undermine the act? On the one hand, seeing acts of kindness can motivate others to do the same. On the other hand, there are many who do this to be self serving.

There is a man by the name of James Donaldson, better known by his YouTube personality, Mr. Beast. He owns one of the largest YouTube channels on earth. What many don’t know, is that Mr. Donaldson grew up as a Christian. He originally set out to use YouTube as a platform for sharing the gospel message. His channel is known for filming philanthropic acts, or acts of kindness. He has given away more money than I will ever see in my lifetime. Though he is generous and originally set out to use his platform to share the gospel, he is far from that today. However, his entire business is almost dependent on filming acts of kindness to generate revenue. He is now worth an estimated $100 million. There is a part of me that says Mr. Donaldson has a real caring heart and does a lot of good, but there is another part of me that asks if he would still do those things if nobody saw it. I think the answer is no. Mr. Donaldson identifies as agnostic today and has traded the glory of God for the glory of self. We are called to glorify God.

Christianity is the death to self and live for Christ. When you do good deeds, remember it first should be of the overflow of your fellowship with God. Second, remember who you glorify matters.

I want to be very careful about how we present ourselves to the public. Far be it from us to do what God calls us to do with help in one hand and a selfie stick in the other. You don’t need to advertise every good thing you do. Just go do them. This is the heart of giving.

As we think about giving in our community and beyond, let us remember there will always be those who try to take advantage of what we are offering. But don’t let that stop us from helping those who truly need it. There are people who come through our food pantry who may not actually need the food. Don’t let that keep you from serving the ones who depend on it. There are people who receive from our benevolence fund that sometimes don’t need that solution, but don’t let that keep you from helping the ones who do need it. As we seek to expand our opportunity to minister to our community, don’t let your attitude toward some keep you from serving others. Ask the Lord to guide you, then do as he says.