Do you serve God to please him or get admiration from others? Everything we do should be to please God, not man. How many times have you done something for someone only to brag about it? How many times have you been a blessing in secret?
Verse Mathew 6:3-4 states, 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.
We aren’t to brag about our giving or when we help others. It’s fine if someone sees you do it, but you shouldn’t shout, “Hey! Look what I did.” If so, you’re not doing your action for God; you’re doing it for admiration. This doesn’t mean someone you hear about every once in a while who helps others. I mean those who constantly tell you how they’ve helped others. They usually make it more about them than the person they helped.
There are a lot of people who silently bless others. People who help without a word about what they’ve done. They are the true Christians. People who constantly brag about their exploits are not. They only want the attention they receive from their giving.
It’s easy to be kind when others are looking. It’s a lot harder when no one’s around to see it happen. You should be happy with the accolades you receive from God instead of wanting the pats on your back from man. If God’s praise is not enough, then you’re doing your work for man and yourself.
Boasting takes away your deed. And if you do it too much, others wonder what your real reason for giving is. You tend to look like you want applause or to be the center of attention.
Do you know how many people out there give large sums of money to help others but are never recognized because they don’t announce it in the paper? I don’t either because they don’t let others know. Giving for them is not about praise. It’s about doing what is right in their heart.
Your generosity should come from your heart, not to draw attention to yourself. If God wants others to know about it, He’ll let it come out. And the more you brag about what you’ve done, the more others will see your true intentions.
So do as God asks and give with an open heart and a closed mouth.
