Giving to the Needy

The Dangers of Seeking Human Recognition

It reveals the heart of the man.

When we give with a heart seeking approval by men, we are seeking with a heart full of pride and self-righteousness. We want people to be impressed by our giving and to think better of us or to envy us, we do not have heart for the ones we are giving to.

It Goes against biblical teaching.

The bible teaches us in this passage but also in others to give freely and lovingly without reservation to the glory of God. In OT times a gift was often not what we think of as a gift, it was a barter or opening to commerce. A rich man would give a gift to the poor, not to lift them up out of poverty or to help, but rather to bind them in some way to himself in the future, a quid pro quo sort of arrangement. I do this for you, and you are obligated to return the favor or gift in kind.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Giving in the wrong way steals the glory from God for one’s self.

I don’t know about you but the last thing I want to do is take from God what is rightfully His. Who am I, to receive the glory that should go to God. Did I create the gold or silver that we value so much, or the plants we make the money from? Or the brains we use to come up with ways to barter and buy, spend and receive from one another? No, God did all of that, or did I make the money and earn the wages all on my own or did God provide graciously for me, that I may bless another through the gifts God has given me.

The Wrong Way to Give

Announced with trumpets.

Have you ever met some one that had to tell you about the great things they did for someone else, like …”I saw this homeless guy the other day and I stopped and feed him what was left of my lunch, and gave him two dollars to get a drink with.” “Or, hey I just gave a whole bunch of money to this charity to support XYZ, look at how good I am, look at how much I help people.” This is what Jesus is talking about, don’t be the person who gives for the show of giving. People who give like that are not doing it for God, but for self-recognition, and to be praised by men and not by God. I will give you a controversial opinion, but we Baptists like to donate things to the church like church pews, art pieces , or a building and have a brass plaque attached that says, “Donated by” on it so that everyone who sees that pew, art piece, or building from then on will know exactly who “Donated it” and can be revered for their selfless giving.

It turns giving into a spectacle. When we give in such a way it dishonors God, we take simple godly act of giving because God gave us enough to give and turn it into a show, something for everyone to see and be amazed by. Jesus said thats exactly what the hypocrites in the temple and the synagogues do to be glorified by men.

What about giving in the wrong Spirit?

Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)

They sold a piece of land and gave part of the money to the apostles but lied by pretending they had given the full amount. Their giving was motivated by a desire for praise, not genuine generosity, and resulted in severe judgment from God.

The Rich Who Gave Out of Their Abundance (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4)

Jesus contrasted the rich who gave large sums publicly with the poor widow who gave two mites. The rich gave in a way that could be noticed and praised, while the widow gave sacrificially in faith.

Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:18-24)

Simon attempted to give money to the apostles to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. His giving was for personal gain, not for God’s glory, and he was rebuked by Peter.

d. You get a temporary reward from man. When we give that way, Christ tells us that we have our reward already. Jesus is saying if you seek praise from men then their praise will be the reward you get, the implication is this; If your motive is to be glorified by men then God will let men glorify you, and He will not. God doesn’t compete with men to see who can glorify someone better. God always glorifies better and with God its an eternal glory, not a fleeting earthly glory.

The Right Way to Give

Give in secret. So how are we supposed to give and not be glorified by men? Matthew 6:3–4 “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

We are to strive to be discrete with our giving, that means we don’t boast about how often, or how much we give, to whom we give or the reasons we give. If we followed this command from Christ then we would never seek recognition for giving and our giving would be more often than not, anonymous. Wehn we give anonymously God gets the glory, and not us, and that should be our goal to glorify God in all things.

Teaches humility and discretion in giving. When we follow the guidelines and commandments Jesus has given us in the both Old and New Testaments we are taught how to be discrete and humble in our giving to others. When we receive blessings from God for being discrete givers we are able to give more and with the right heart of giving.

The reward is eternal from God in Heaven. The best part of being a secretive or discrete giver is that when God blesses you for it its not in secret, its openly a blessing. This could be in any form, a new better paying job, a windfall, a well performing stock, it could be your car lasts longer and needs fewer repairs, your home doesn't require the expensive maintenance anything really. But know this, when God blesses you others will see it and give glory to God for it.

Applications:

Don’t be a flamboyant, self-seeking giver, it is a sin against God to seek His glory for yourself.

Avoid giving in anyway that overtly honors you, or dishonors God or the receiver of the gift.

Give in secret, be humble, give all the glory to God through your generosity, and in return you will receive an eternal reward and blessing openly from God.