Matthew 6:1-4 Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others 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 others. Truly I tell you, 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.
We have been given so much, certainly more than we deserve, by our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Our forgiveness came to us because He was willing to be rejected on our behalf. The living God of the universe, the creator of all in heaven and earth, stepped out of eternity, took on human form in the person of Christ Jesus. Then willingly and joyfully, endured the pain and suffering on the Cross of Calvary, to sacrifice Himself, his sinless, perfect blood to justify our sins. Christ Jesus lived an innocent human life on this earth so that we might have salvation through faith in Him alone. The instant we surrender our lives to Christ Jesus, we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to begin a life dedicated to Him. We will live a life full of joy that we cannot comprehend by words from any language on this planet from that point forward.
This full life is because of our love for Christ Jesus. Because of this intense joy and love, we willingly and joyfully give to others. Because Jesus so freely provided for us, we can provide to those in need and help build the Body of Christ. This giving to others and God’s storehouse stems out of love from our hearts. A desire to help those around us with our time, talents, and money.
We should never give out of a sense of obligation. In addition, we should also never give out of a desire to be acknowledged by those around us or prominence, prestige or to increase our standing with other people. Jesus is pointing to and speaking of the Pharisees, whom He referred to as hypocrites, in this writing and other places in the Gospels. The Pharisees and other Jewish leaders did not give because of concern for the people, who might benefit from their offerings.
These hypocrites and dissemblers only gave to receive attention and recognition from the people around them. To them, this giving was to assure their monetary status and social standing in the community. When they gave, they made a big spectacle out of it to ensure that all around them knew that they were giving their offering. This self-centered giving was done out of a false sense of humility so that the people in their community thought more highly of them than they deserved.
To them, this was an investment so that they might gain financially and increase their status among the people and other leaders. Jesus tells us we are not to do the same; instead, we are to give out of our love for Christ and because of our love for others because of what Jesus did for us.
If You would like the Verse of the Day sent to your daily E-Mail send a request
in the "Comments" section. Please include your e-mail address
No comments:
Post a Comment