Devotional: Giving

But when you give to the poor, don’t 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 6:3-4 (CSB)

People want instant gratification. They want to be in the spot light and be thanked for doing anything even giving to the poor. From time to time you will hear a news story about how a star in Hollywood has donated several thousand dollars to some charity for example making a tweet about how you are going to give $500,000 to charity. This is a good thing, but putting it out there is to get the people to reward you with their praise. Philanthropy is a great thing, but when we do it to get the gratification and instant recognition for doing it, we have already received our reward.

From bible.com

Jesus told us not to sound trumpets like the hypocrites do, but give in secret. Even to the point of hiding it from your own body. When you give in privately, God will be the one who rewards you for it. Just as doing good deeds in front of others so the
y see it, you have your rewards. They applaud you, smack you on the back and say "Good Job." But when you do good, when you give, God will give you a much better reward, and one that will last forever.

Imagine how cool it would be that when you get to heaven, Jesus shows you the place he prepared for you and behind it he shows you a giant warehouse. He turns to you and smiles, "Oh for all the good things you did in private, giving to the poor, doing good things to random people, my Father has given you everything in this building, rewards that are so beyond whatever you could have earned on earth." You get everything you could ever want and Jesus will be there to enjoy it with you. And it is just between you and the Lord of All Creation.

Lord, give me the chance to give in secret, to give with love like you give to us. Give me the chance to brighten someones day and share your great Grace to the world.