GIVE IN HIDING

a. Almsgiving, 6:1–4

¹ “Take care not to parade your righteousness before men in order to be seen by them; if you do, you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. ² Whenever then you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by men; truly I tell you, they have their reward. ³ But when you are giving alms, let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your almsgiving may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Jesus begins with the giving of alms, a most important part of piety in a day when poverty was very widespread and when the lot of the poor was so hard. Everybody accepted the fact that it was a religious duty to help the poor, but Jesus points out that it was possible to do this in an objectionable way. Some people made a public display of their generosity (a phenomenon that has been repeated in every age). They were more interested in ensuring that they were known as benefactors than in genuinely helping the poor; reputation rather than relief of poverty was what mattered to them. Jesus teaches that it is important to give, not to be known to give. So he suggests that precautions be taken to ensure that, while gifts are indeed given, the identity of the givers is kept secret.

1. Take care renders a verb that has the meaning “turn (your mind) to” and thus “give careful attention to,” “concentrate on.” Jesus is inviting his hearers to concentrate on the central thing when they perform any act of righteousness. This word may be used in any one of a variety of ways, but here it refers to any good deed that a person may do as part of his service of God (Jesus goes on to illustrate with the examples of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting). The believer must always keep in mind that the act is righteous only if it is what it purports to be—the service of God. When instead it is done as a means of enhancing the reputation of the doer of the deed, then it is no longer a simple act of divine service. It is thus important that the aim should never be that people may observe it. Occasions may arise when publicity is unavoidable, but the deed must never be done in order to be made public. If it is so done,³ then there is no reward (see on 5:12) with your Father who is in heaven (see on 5:16). Why should there be? The deed was done in order to secure a reputation, not in order to serve God. Already the doer has secured his reward. He aimed at reputation. He got it. He has no right to expect the further benefit of divine approval.

2. Whenever is comprehensive; Jesus is not pointing to an occasional happening, but to the regular practice. You is singular, which makes the application personal (in the previous verse the plural was used). Jesus assumes that his hearers will assist the poor; the question is not “Whether?” but “How?” Almsgiving is commanded in Scripture (e.g., Deut. 15:11), and all who serve God must take this seriously. Jesus tells his hearers not to sound a trumpet before them. This lively piece of imagery (surely there cannot be anything more public than the sounding of a trumpet!) at one and the same time burlesques the attitude of publicity seekers and denounces it. That is the method of the hypocrites.⁸ The word was used for actors who, of course, play a part and whose words are spoken for effect and not in order to convey the truth. These hypocrites were people who acted a concern for the poor whereas their real concern was to establish a reputation for piety. The synagogue (see on 4:23) was, of course, a place of worship, but it was also the center of life for the community and functions like the administration of justice were carried on there. The synagogue was a public place, and a generous gift made there would certainly be noticed. So it was with the streets. Jesus selects two very public places where hypocritical gifts may be given and warns his followers against following the practice. People who engage in that kind of giving are interested in being praised by men;¹⁰ it is the praise and not the helping of the needy in which they are primarily interested. For truly I tell you see on 5:18; it is an expression that recurs in this sermon. Such people have their reward. This expression employs the ordinary commercial term for a receipt and is a lively way of bringing out the truth that these hypocrites have received all the reward they are going to get for this “good” deed. They sought the praise of men. They received the praise of men. There is nothing more to come. They cannot expect a heavenly reward in addition, for they have already been “paid in full.”

3. But is adversative; it sets the follower of Jesus in contrast to the hypocrites. The present tense of the verb pictures the act as in progress; while it is taking place there must be the utmost secrecy. The figure of the left hand being unaware of what the right hand is doing (again the tense points to the action in progress) is a striking expression for complete secrecy. And it forbids the giver to gloat over how good he or she is! “Christian giving is to be marked by self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness, not by self-congratulation” (Stott, p. 131). The motive deep down is important.

4. So that introduces the purpose. In giving alms what is one really aiming at? Jesus says that the person must aim at doing this good deed in secret. But though almsgiving is done in the right way, that is, done without ostentation and in secret, that does not mean that it is entirely unnoticed. Your Father (an expression found again in the first three Gospels only in vv. 6 and 18; the plural is more common) sees it and takes notice of it (for Father see on 5:16). The verb may be used of various kinds of seeing, literal and metaphorical; here it indicates that human secrecy is no bar to God’s complete knowledge. God sees what is given and will take action, rewarding the donor. This does not mean that good deeds should be done with a view to obtaining a reward; that would mean that the deeds would no longer be good. It is a way of saying that in the end justice will be done.¹⁶ In our anxiety to make sure that we do not serve God for what we can get out of it we must not go to the other extreme and think of God as not caring what we do, or if he does, as not doing anything about it. God notices what his children do and responds to it. We should bear in mind the nature of the reward. To respond to love is to obtain a wonderful reward even if the reward cannot be quantified in any way nor regarded as merited. But it is very real. As Plummer puts it, “There is nothing degrading in working for the reward of a good conscience here, and of increased holiness hereafter, both enriched by God’s love and blessing” (p. 91). Cf. Gutzwiller, “God himself is the reward of Christians.”¹

—Matthew 6:1–4

Having called the disciple to be mature in love, Jesus then turned to the matter of motive in the disciple’s lifestyle. He showed that even right things can be done with wrong motives. Jesus used three basic examples to make His point and in doing so selected the three most important demonstrations of religious devotion in Judaism: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. In each instance Jesus condemned service with ulterior motives, for the praise of men or for selfish benefits. He emphasized service for the sake of righteousness, that is, fellowship with God. If our aim is to gain the world’s rewards, we can no doubt win or receive them, but in so doing we miss the eternal dimension of reward from God. That which the world rewards is of the world and that which God rewards is of the kingdom of heaven. Persons who function primarily for the praise of men should know that when they have received this, they have their “pay” or reward in full; they have what they wanted (6:2, 5, and 16). The word translated “have” in verse 16 is the word in Greek which is used in payment of bills; in receiving glory from men the payment has been made in full. But when we serve for the praise of God we will receive His blessing in full, although not for outward notice. It is proper to live for the reward of a good conscience and peace with God.

The question of motive challenges much of contemporary Christian activity, including one-upmanship, competition for bigness, assurances that God blesses the faithful with material bonanzas or with health and healing, etc. We are not to bargain with God in quest of a deal that if we do our part He will grant particular rewards. Contemplation of personal advantage stands in opposition to service in the spirit of Christ. The wording of this reference to “your Father who is in heaven” is uniquely Matthean. It carries with it the connotation of majesty and greatness and highlights the contrast between serving merely for the praise of men or for the glory of God.

One of the difficult phrases here is the statement, “let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (kjv). Probably a current proverb, in the context of doing charitable deeds, it implies a secrecy about deeds of kindness rather than acting to impress others. This was not an unknown practice, for the Jews had what was called “the Chamber of the Silent” for those who for some reason wanted to be completely anonymous in their giving. In reading this proverb it is worth noting that it is your own left hand that is not to know what your own right hand is doing; it is not the other person’s. The expression may simply mean that we are to avoid all scheming or planning for our own advantage in human attention. One does not give with strings attached. One gives in complete trust when the gift is in the spirit of love, and gives for the good in the experience itself rather than for personal benefits resulting from the gift.

²

THE MOTIVE AND METHOD OF GIVING ALMS

Chapter 6 of Matthew deals with the external part of religion. We have seen in chapter 5 that the King speaks of the righteousness which His subjects must possess. It must be a righteousness to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and that comes only through trust in Christ. In chapter 6 Matthew talks about the righteousness that the subjects of the Kingdom are to practice. The motive, of course, is the important thing in what you do for God. No third party can enter into this relationship. These things are between the soul and God.

The items mentioned in this chapter—the giving of alms, prayer, fasting, money, and taking thought and care for the future—are very practical considerations.

First, our Lord talks about alms. Keep in mind that all of this has to do with externalities of religion or with ostentation in religion.

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven [Matt. 6:1].

Although the Lord Jesus is directing His remarks to the subjects of His coming Kingdom, there is a great principle here for you and me.

Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward [Matt. 6:2].

He is saying this with biting irony. Believe me, He knew how to use the rapier of sarcasm! When the Pharisees wanted to give something to the poor, it was their custom to go down to a busy street corner in Jerusalem and blow a trumpet. Although the purpose was to call the poor and needy together to receive the gifts, it afforded a fine opportunity to let others see their good works. Do you see parallels today in the way some Christians give? Our Lord said that when the Pharisees do it that way, they have their reward. What was their reward? Well, what was it that they were after? Jesus said they did it to have glory of men. They blew the trumpet, and everybody came running out to see how generously they gave, and that was their reward. Their giving was not between themselves and God.

Now, why do you give? There is more than one way to give. Several years ago I was asked to take an offering in a certain organization. I was told to be sure and give everybody an opportunity to stand up and tell how much he would give. For example, I was instructed to say, “How many will give one hundred dollars?” I asked,“Why in the world do you take an offering like that?” I was told that a certain man would attend who would give only one dollar if a regular offering was taken. However, if the question of how many would give one hundred dollars was asked, he would give that amount. May I say that he blew a trumpet. And I discovered when I came to know this man that this was the way he gave.

There are other people who give large checks but want to hand them to you personally. There was a man in my church who always gave me a check before I went into the pulpit. He thought this would excite me enough so that I would mention it. A friend of his came to me one day and said,“So–and–so is disturbed.” He went on to explain that I did not acknowledge the very large check his friend had given me last Sunday. “That’s right,” I said, and told this man the reason why. “Your friend is a man of means and the check he gave me, in relationship to what he has, wasn’t very much. Last Sunday a mail–carrier also handed me an envelope. He didn’t want me to open it until after the service and did not want me to say a word to anyone about it. He gave me almost twice as much money as the man of means did. If I were going to acknowledge anybody, it would have to be the mail–carrier—but he didn’t want me to do that.”

May I say to you that giving is between you and God, and the very minute you get a third party involved, you don’t get any credit in heaven.

There is a lot of so–called Christian giving today that isn’t giving at all. For example, the college I graduated from played on human nature. While I was in school, beautiful architectural plans were drawn up for a tower to be put on an old hall. It was modestly announced that the tower would be named after the donor. At least a half dozen people wanted their names on that tower. Today it is called “So–and–so Tower” in honor of a certain man. His name is carved in stone which means that his trumpet is being blown all the time. A lot of people give like that. This kind of giving is worth nothing before God.

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly [Matt. 6:3–4].

Don’t reach in your pocket with one hand and then put the other hand in the air to let people know how much you are giving! Our Lord is saying that when you put your hand in your pocket to get something to give, be so secretive about it that the other hand doesn’t know what you are doing. All of this is biting sarcasm.

Do our liberal friends really live by the Sermon on the Mount? I don’t think they do!

³

Our Giving (Matt. 6:1–4)

Giving alms to the poor, praying, and fasting were important disciplines in the religion of the Pharisees. Jesus did not condemn these practices, but He did caution us to make sure that our hearts are right as we practice them. The Pharisees used almsgiving to gain favor with God and attention from men, both of which were wrong motives. No amount of giving can purchase salvation; for salvation is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8–9). And to live for the praise of men is a foolish thing because the glory of man does not last (1 Peter 1:24). It is the glory and praise of God that really counts!

Our sinful nature is so subtle that it can defile even a good thing like sharing with the poor. If our motive is to get the praise of men, then like the Pharisees, we will call attention to what we are doing. But if our motive is to serve God in love and please Him, then we will give our gifts without calling attention to them. As a result, we will grow spiritually; God will be glorified; and others will be helped. But if we give with the wrong motive, we rob ourselves of blessing and reward and rob God of glory, even though the money we share might help a needy person.

Does this mean that it is wrong to give openly? Must all giving be anonymous? Not necessarily, for everyone in the early church knew that Barnabas had given the income from the sale of his land (Acts 4:34–37). When the church members laid their money at the Apostles’ feet, it was not done in secret. The difference, of course, was in the motive and manner in which it was done. A contrast is Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11), who tried to use their gift to make people think they were more spiritual than they really were.⁴

. First example: Almsgiving. 6:1–4

6:1. Jesus warns that we do not give alms before men just to gain human recognition to ourselves. That practical righteousness is in view is obvious. The one who does righteousness (or gives of his possessions) to the Lord before men merely to be seen of them has no reward from the Father in heaven. True worship is to result from the desire to serve God, not men, since pleasing God is far more important than pleasing men. Loss of reward is incurred by gaining the reward of human recognition as an end in itself. This does not mean that all human recognition is necessarily wrong. The implication of the text simply states that we are to serve the Lord because we love Him, not just because we desire something from Him.

2. Therefore in all of our giving we are not to sound a trumpet before us in a hypocritical manner of gaining attention to ourselves. This metaphorical phrase means do not “publicize” your righteousness, for such performers are hypocrites (from the Greek, “play actor”). Thus, Jesus warns against “acting like the hypocrites, whose aim is to win human praise … whose parade and pretense are spiritually futile” (Filson, p. 92). Those who parade their righteousness through the streets receive the honor of men and They have their reward, meaning that God will add nothing extra to that reward. But those who are willing to serve Him in secret, God will reward openly.

3. The phrase let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth means that one’s giving of finances to the work of the Lord should be done so freely and spontaneously that his right hand cannot keep up with his left hand. He literally empties his pockets as fast as he can! Such giving is to be so spontaneous as to be unplanned at times. Notice that this passage does not state that it is wrong to give systematically, nor through church envelopes, nor receiving a tax-deductible receipt. What it does teach is that one should not give by those means only. There are ample examples of systematic giving in Scripture in order to build the Temple, to provide for the needs and welfare of the underprivileged, etc. Planned giving is certainly biblical and encouraged; but all of our giving should not be limited to our predetermined plan or system.

4. The real key to success of this kind of giving is found in the phrase: thy Father which seeth in secret … shall reward you. Giving by faith, out of a cheerful heart, depends upon our total confidence in that fact that God does indeed see us and knows our needs. The God who is there, sees in secret that which no man may observe, and that God rewards His own. The Christian is to give, not in order to receive reward, but that his love might be expressed to God who shall reward him. Our giving to the work of Christ spreads the message of the gospel throughout the world. Notice again, that these verses certainly do not condemn public giving, but rather they speak against giving out of the wrong attitude and for the wrong motive.⁵

Giving (6:2–4)

When Jesus talks about ‘giving to the needy’, he primarily addresses the motivation with which we give. There are however some assumptions we may make about giving from this passage. He says, ‘When you give …’ (6:2, 3) not ‘if you give’. The assumption is that giving is to be a normal activity. Under the Old Covenant the tithe of ten percent was levied on the Israelites, almost like a tax, and included a tenth of their grain, fruit, herds, flocks, garden plants and cash. If a man retained his tithe, he added to it a standard 20% of the value of the tithe (see Lev. 27:30–33). In addition to his tithe, which was mandatory, he may add offerings which were voluntary. Thus the Old Testament speaks of ‘tithes and offerings’ (e.g. Mal. 3:8).

Tithing is not taught in the New Testament, and is only mentioned by Jesus in connection with the Pharisees’ obsession with the outward manifestations of the law (e.g. Matt. 23:23 and Luke 11:42). An altogether different principle applies in the New Testament, where one hundred percent belongs to God. (cf. Luke 14:33). That is a good principle but impractical as a guideline for specific giving. Paul wrote, ‘Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver’ (2 Cor. 9:7). Specific giving is to be freely and cheerfully! There are benefits in giving for Paul stated in the same passage, ‘Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously’ (2 Cor. 9:6) but that is not in itself the motive! It is simply a fact. No one is ever poverty stricken because they gave away too much. The wisdom of Proverbs states, ‘One man gives freely, yet gains even more. Another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper’ (Prov. 11:24–25). Certainly our attitude to God will be reflected in our attitude to money and our generosity or lack of it. I once saw engraved on a wooden offering plate being passed around a church in Harlem, New York, ‘Despite all we say and do, This is what we really think of you’. I am not sure this is the kind of bullying tactic we should encourage, but there is some truth in the statement!⁶

We have come to a portion of the Sermon on the Mount that includes a warning with respect to the practice of piety in three areas: (1) charitable giving or almsgiving; (2) fasting; and (3) prayer. In this study we will restrict our focus to the first of those, the giving of alms.

Godly Giving

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven” (v. 1). At first blush it would seem that what Jesus is speaking about here is on a collision course with what He taught earlier in the sermon about Christians letting their light shine before men so that their good works may be seen by a watching world and give honor to God. Here Jesus talks about a certain spiritual practice that is not to be done before the watching world but in private. Earlier, Jesus described good deeds and manifestations of righteousness that are to be done in full view of the world, such as showing mercy and speaking the truth, so that observers will notice a certain integrity of character. Here, however, Jesus is not talking about righteousness with respect to doing good deeds but about the practice of personal piety. Such things, Jesus says, are not to be done before men.

“Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men” (v. 2). The most common charitable deed done by the Jew in antiquity was to give alms to the poor, and he could do that in more than one way. He could make a donation at the synagogue that then would be passed on to the poor, or, if he saw a beggar in the street, he could give alms directly. In that case, obviously, the one who received the alms would see his benefactor. In such cases, the giving could not be done in secret. However, Jesus is talking about the spirit behind our giving. We are not to give in order to receive applause and glory from men. In other words, we are not to parade our piety in front of a watching world, because, He tells us, that is exactly what the hypocrites of His day were doing. The primary emphasis here is that giving is to be done for the glory of God. Jesus is teaching us that our charitable giving is an act of worship.

Two of the sons of Adam and Eve brought sacrifices to the altar. Abel brought an animal sacrifice, and Cain brought a cereal sacrifice or one of produce. We are told that God loved the one and despised the other (Gen. 4:4–5). Many say that the reason God received Abel’s offering and not Cain’s was that Abel’s was a blood sacrifice. In a sense, Abel’s offering did foreshadow the ultimate blood sacrifice that would be made for us by Jesus, but to think that is why God accepted Abel’s sacrifice is wrong. God’s prescriptions made it abundantly clear that grain offerings were perfectly acceptable to Him; acceptable offerings were not restricted simply to blood offerings. A herdsmen was expected to take an animal from his herd and offer it as a sacrifice, and a farmer was to take from his produce and offer that to the glory of God.

We learn in the New Testament why Abel’s offering was acceptable to God: “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (Heb. 11:4). Old Testament worship was communicated through the making of sacrifices, and these were to be sacrifices of praise, not sacrifices to inflate the ego of the giver or to make his offering appear noble. A sacrifice not given from the heart was not offered in faith. Whatever reward God might give for the sacrifice would be withheld if the offering had not come from the heart. Sacrifices offered for self-serving reasons were hypocritical. Just as the author of Hebrews makes a distinction between sacrifices made in faith and those that are not, so Jesus here makes a distinction between a gift that is given genuinely from a gift that is given hypocritically.

Hypocrisy

The term hypokritēs that occupies much of Jesus’ attention throughout the Gospel of Matthew, particularly as He chastens the Pharisees, comes from the ancient theater. A hypocrite was a play actor in the theater. When actors take on a role, they pretend to be someone they are not. The whole idea of acting and pretense was borrowed from the theater and later became a pejorative term to describe someone who merely goes through the motions and plays a role.

Maybe you have noticed that when Academy Award—winning actors give unscripted television interviews, they stumble over their words. They are unable to make an intelligible sentence without the crutch of a script—lines that someone else has written for them to utter. They memorize those scripts so well that they can assume the identity of the character they are playing while acting onscreen. That is good in the theater, but if we in the church seek to portray an aura of greater piety than we actually possess, it is ghastly.

One of the ten most frequent objections that people give to becoming a Christian is that the church is full of hypocrites. D. James Kennedy used to answer, “That’s all right. There is always room for one more.” He added, “If you ever find a perfect church, don’t join it. You’ll ruin it.” His premise was that the church is filled with sinners. In fact, it is the only organization I know of that requires an acknowledgment of sin to belong. If people outside the church see us sin, they really should not be surprised. What those outside fail to see is that a Christian is only a hypocrite if he says that he does not sin. Hypocrisy is pretending to be something you are not or trying to get people to believe that you are not doing a certain thing that in fact you are doing.

Nevertheless, the sin of hypocrisy does indeed exist in the church. Sometimes the blame for it lies with the preacher. Preachers constantly exhort and admonish people to grow their faith to a higher level of obedience. So much pressure is put on Christians to grow spiritually that sometimes they fear being rejected if others realize they are not quite as righteous as they ought to be.

No two people in the Christian community started their Christian life at the same place, and no two people in the church are at exactly the same place in their spiritual pilgrimage and growth into conformity to the righteousness of Christ. That is why the Bible enjoins us to have a love that covers a multitude of sins. We are not to be spiritual policemen, judging everyone and looking down our noses at those in the congregation. “There but for the grace of God go I,” says an old adage. Winston Churchill once played on that adage when he mentioned someone who manifested arrogance, saying, “There but for the grace of God goes God.” May it be that no one can say that about us.

I am a Calvinist, which means that the doctrine of sola gratia is in my bones and blood. I know that only through the grace of God could I ever enter into His kingdom. I hope we all understand the primacy of grace in the Christian life. Grace is not a license to continue in sin and take advantage of God’s grace. “Should we continue in sin that grace may abound?” Paul asks, and then he answers, “Certainly not!” (Rom 6:1–2). At the same time, we have to guard against adding hypocrisy to whatever weaknesses and sins still plague us.

That is why Jesus urges us here to be sure that we do not make our contributions in order to be seen by men. Surely there are times when it is impossible to conceal a contribution. “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” (vv. 3–4).

When Paul was put under a microscope and criticized by some of his fellow Jews, he became fed up with it and responded:

Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast. For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise! For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face. To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more. (2 Cor. 11:18–23)

The spirit of Paul’s response, which he gave when he reached the end of his patience, was that if the people wanted to level charges against him, he would outwork them, outlove them, and outgive them. He was answering the fool according to his folly. Do you want to talk about giving? Each of us ought to embrace the principle of the sacrifice of praise.

The head of a large ministry once told me that every time the organization asked people to give, letters of protest came back. He said that when someone complains about a request for giving, he goes immediately to his donor record. “Ninety-nine times out of a hundred,” he said, “the person complaining about the request to give is someone who doesn’t give.” We do not like to be told to give if we are not giving; however, when we are giving from the heart, such requests do not bother us because we know it is what God expects from His people—to do that which is pleasing to God, not to man.

Rewarded

“Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (v. 5). The reward for the hypocrite is not much. Those who boast about their giving, those who parade their almsgiving, those who put their name up in lights so that the whole world can see their sacrifice, have received their reward. Yet it is not from God. They receive the reward they are looking for—the praise of men—which is worthless from the viewpoint of eternity. They are like Cain, who brought his gift not from faith, not to manifest the glory of God and serve Him, but for his own glorification. It was more important to Cain to be known as a giver than actually to give. If you give, and you are the only one who knows it, you are not the only one who knows it. God knows it, too. That is all that matters.

Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. He will do it Himself, directly. He is not going to delegate that to someone else. If you give in secret, your reward is open. If we give openly, we are not to expect public acclamation. The most marvelous thing about charitable giving is that it is impossible to outgive the Lord.⁷

1 Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (pp. 135–139). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.

2 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

3 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, pp. 87–89). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

4 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 25). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

5 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (pp. 1893–1894). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

6 Price, C. (1998). Matthew: Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth? (pp. 102–103). Fearn, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.

7 Sproul, R. C. (2013). Matthew (pp. 129–133). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.