PT-1 "The Practice and Reward of True Giving" (Matt. 6:3-4)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/15/2020 11:07 AM

 

My Worship Time                                  Focus:  PT-1 “The Practice and Reward of True Giving”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:3-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “3 "But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing 4 that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

 

            When Jesus says “do not let your left hand know what your right had is doing” He may possibility been using a proverbial expression that simply referred to doing something spontaneously, with no special effort or show.  The Bible shows that the right hand was considered the primary hand of action, and this is in no offense to those who are left handed.  I remember bowling with a man who bowled left handed but wrote the scores with his right hand.  I ask him about it and he stated that while in Catholic school he was not allowed to do anything left handed and was smacked with a ruler by the nuns if he used his left hand so he had to learn to do things with his right hand.  I also remember Dr. Wiersbe’s comments on the story in the book of Judges where an Israelite man killed an enemy with his left hand, and so Dr. Wiersbe stated that there must have been something wrong with his right hand or else he would have used it to kill his enemy.  All I can say is that times have changed.  MacArthur states that “Giving to help those in need should be a normal activity of the Christian, and he should do it as simply, directly, and discreetly as possible.”

 

            He goes on to state that “The most satisfying giving, and the giving that God blesses, is that which is done and forgotten.  It is done in love out of response to a need, and when the need is met the giver goes on about his business, not waiting for or wanting recognition.  What has been done should even be a ‘secret’ to our ‘left hand,’ not to mention to other people.  Whether the person we help is grateful or ungrateful should not matter as far as our own purpose is concerned.  If he is ungrateful, we are sorry for his sake, not our own.”

 

            In his commentary John MacArthur talks about a story that came from a book by Cf. Edersheim, and Edersheim tells of a place in the temple where humble Jews could give money for the poor and the poor could come and receive the money without anyone knowing about it.  They called the place the Chamber of Silent.  I know that there could be problems with a system like this because of man’s evil nature as people take advantage of it.  I remember hearing a story by a man who worked for me and he said that there were so called homeless people standing by an intersection with a sign “homeless” and people would drop money into their basket.  He said he knew the man who was doing this and that he was making more money than what this working man was making each day.  Yes we have to be very careful in giving money to strangers who say that they are in need, and asking wisdom from the Lord is how we should determine who to help out. 

 

            If one looks at Matthew 6:3 it could be interpreted to mean that all good works are to be done in absolute secrecy.  Look at the following verses to see that true righteousness cannot be kept entirely secret, and should not be:  “How blessed are those who keep justice, Who practice righteousness at all times!” (Ps. 106:3).  "Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God” (Isa. 58:2).  John tells us the following in 1 John 2:29 “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”

 

            Lord willing we will go back and look as some earlier things that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in our next SD.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been a believer for a fairly long time and it was because of my father that I began to tithe even before I was a believer.  It is our practice as husband and wife to continue to do this, and then we must rely on the Lord to guide us to anything else to help others in need, and to me that should be a practice for all who desire to help people in need.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to lead us to give what He has given us to those who He wants us to help.

 

10/15/2020 11:36 AM