Not Listening for Earthly Applause

1“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.

2“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. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4) 

Thoughts: There is always a balance between 'not hiding your light under a bushel" (Mt. 5:14-16) and "not to practice your righteousness in front of others."  The balance is this- we live for the applause of God, not for the applause of others.  None of us deserves accolades.  If we do any good, the glory and credit should go to God who motivates, prompts, equips, and puts us in a position to do good (cf. Eph. 2:10).  The reward that is the greatest is the reward from God.  The question is, do we have faith that God really does care about what we do.  Do we really care about pleasing God and trusting in His reward.  Jesus teaches us here to give to the needy, but do it quietly and as secretly as possible.  The reward we work for is not that people would think we are so generous, or that we get a huge tax break.  Rather we are called to seek to honor God, quietly and well.  I know a man who is very wealthy, ,and he see his wealth as a gift from God.  He is always looking for ways to help in the church, and to help others.  He has given millions to my friends church.  Yet other people in this same church give far less, but give it only in flashy ways.  I don't think Jesus would say it is wrong for the government to encourage charity by deducting taxes- He probably would support it.  But such motivations are secondary compared to the greatest motivation of pleasing God and showing love for Him by helping another.  

Prayer: Lord, let me keep my giving secret.  Help me to be able to give- and give well to you quietly.