God and you

Day 47

'"Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."'

Matthew 6:2-4

That verse is, in my opinion, one of the most poetical and one of the most useful and applicable bible verses ever. I've already done a bit about generosity, but there's quite a big point I forgot to make. Who, when they give to charity, lets a whole bunch of family and friends know? Don't pretend - I know most people do. And that's understandable, right? I mean, if you're giving to charity, surely you want to make yourself look good while doing so? 'Look at how generous I'm being! Look at how much of a good Christian I am!' Of course, that's a bit exaggerated, but still. You want other people to look at you and think 'What a wonderful, generous, helpful person they are!'

But Jesus says to not do that. Jesus says to give secretly, and not make a show out of it. Because the whole point of giving is what it will do for the receiver, not what it will do for you! The bible says that we should 'not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing' - in other words, be so secret that practically you are the only person that knows you are giving. And if you give like this, secretly and not like a hypocrite, God will reward you, because God sees all. So even if no-one else knows what you are doing, God does, and he knows that you are not giving for the sake of being praised, but for the sake of giving.

In this world, there are a lot of needy people. People are in awful situations, situations that you couldn't get into even if you tried! Starving children while we have three meals a day, war-torn families with no-where to go - generosity is needed so very much. The least you can do is donate a little money, not to be praised, but to praise Him. God has given you all that you have, but some people are out there now with nothing. You can do something, even if it's just for a kid on the other side of the world to get a meal, everything helps. God has shown you love. Now share that love.

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you for all the wonderful things I have. Thank you for giving me the bible. Thank you Jesus for your love. Please help me to be able to give in the way you want me to. Sorry for being generous before in a way that made me look good, and to make me be praised. Please help all those people out there who are suffering. Bring them hope, Lord. I love you.

Amen