The Reward of Left-Hand Giving
Photo by Anunay Mahajan on Unsplash
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.“ (Matthew 6:1 NIV84) [see full text in button/link below]
The Need for Acceptance and Approval
We all like being acknowledged for doing good. At least, we prefer being recognized for doing good things rather than for bad things. Perhaps we can trace this back to our upbringing and being told to “be good,” and when we were called out for doing something wrong.
When my wife and I were foster parents, we cared for children whose sense of right and wrong was not well-developed. “Right” could be when a person got away with doing something bad, and “wrong” was when you were caught for it.
Still, when these same children were acknowledged for doing something good or well, they beamed with a sense of pride and happiness. It made them feel good.
The need for acceptance and approval isn’t just a learned behavior, but a basic need. Many psychologists understand this, and the Scriptures reveal this in many places. 1 But the source of our acceptance and approval determines its greater value to us.
I had the privilege of baptizing my dad in the Jordan River during a “Holy Land Tour.” The pastor leading the tour asked me to share a message before the baptism. The evening before, the Lord impressed upon me what the Father said to Jesus at His baptism—
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
That was in 1984, and the topic of self-esteem was quite popular. The Lord made it clear to me that His acceptance and love were more important than any sense of self-esteem I had or that others conferred upon me. God’s acceptance and approval were unconditional, based on His grace, not anything in me.
If we look to others for acceptance and approval—parents, friends, spouses, or significant others, even Instagram followers—the glow of their praise will fade over time, probably sooner than we’d expect or like.
When God is the basis and source of our sense of acceptance and approval, it goes deep into our heart of hearts and lasts beyond the moment.
Insights
Religious righteousness feeds off the acknowledgment and praise of others. Regardless of its form, we can see it in how it exalts a person to a place of superiority over others. Some forms of religious righteousness are more subtle than others, as seen in what someone does or does not do, or in what they wear or refuse to wear.
Subtle forms of religious righteousness are still noticeable by appearance or made known in some other way. A common way we see this done today is via social media. We let others know what we are for or against, but often in a manner that belittles others and their views.
Any form of religious righteousness is just our self-righteousness, a sense of rightness or goodness of our design. We do this whenever we set ourselves apart from others, so people take notice of us. It’s based on our motivation, the reason we do what we do.
The more subtle ways we seek the acceptance and approval of others are often unrealized by ourselves and others. They may not be wrong in and of themselves, but they are self-focused, no matter how noble and altruistic they appear.
When our motive is to seek attention, adoration, or praise, we cross a line. A line that is obvious to many, at times even to ourselves. Perhaps this is epitomized today with all the “selfies” that flood social media. All selfies are not the same, but they shout, “Hey, look at me!”
When we do good so others will take notice, we seek a shallow and short-lived reward. This is what Jesus addresses here because it’s a pretense of religious righteousness. It’s a form of self-promotion. God will not endorse this as true righteousness or true religion.
Redefining the Nature of God’s Kingdom
True religion honors God. The word religion often gets a bad rap. But this usually stems from attitudes towards institutional religion and its tendency towards both exclusion and inclusion based on certain beliefs. But when the word religion is used in the Bible, it’s used to express the idea of piety—a spiritual devotion, worship, and respect for God. 2
In the first half of Matthew 6, Jesus clarifies what true religion looks like in contrast to the examples of the Pharisees and other Jewish sects. Jesus saw their form of religion as pretentious and self-serving. It didn’t honor God, nor did it do anyone much good.
Jesus warns against doing “acts of righteousness” as a show for others to see. He calls these religious show-offs hypocrites. They play the part, but it’s not their true heart. The only glory or honor they’ll get is empty. When people toot their own horn or have others do it for them, they receive no endorsement or reward from God. It’s a shallow, pretentious, and short-lived religious sham.
Jesus encourages giving to the needy, but to do it secretly. This is what He means by not letting your “left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
The key point is not to be a religious show-off. Our giving doesn’t need to be top-secret, although some people take this as an admonition to always give anonymously. If that’s your conviction, fine, but Jesus uses this figurative language to make His point.
When you want to give to those in need and honor God, you are to do so without fanfare and self-promotion. It’s really that simple.
Here’s the good news. When we give to others for their benefit and as an expression of our devotion to God, He will honor and reward it. How? Jesus doesn’t say, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any awards charts in heaven.
Caring for others and giving to those in need ought to be the natural outflow of our devotion and worship of God. Yes, this can include giving at church or to support missionaries, but our giving ought to go beyond just giving our “ten percent” as an obligatory offering.
True religion reveals our true character and motives. It reveals the nature of our relationship with the Lord. He honors this kind of giving because it’s done in faith, our trust in God. 3
How do you give to those in need, or do you at all?
Reflections for Prayer
True religion reveals our true character and motives, as well as the nature of our relationship with the Lord. God will honor giving that isn’t done to impress others or make us feel more righteous. The Lord is interested in the motive of our hearts more than how much we give.
When you’re not sure about giving to those in need, whoever they may be, ask the Lord for guidance. He promises to reward giving when it’s done without self-promotion, so ask the Lord to help you give freely and with a humble heart.
Footnotes–
Kimball, T. (2021, December 11). Acceptance and Approval are Keys to a Healthy Self - Publishous - Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/publishous/acceptance-and-approval-are-keys-to-a-healthy-self-89b92a51df99
See– James 1:26-27
See– Hebrews 11:6
This is an excerpt from a soon-to-be-published book called The Heart and Soul of God’s Kingdom. Look for it on Amazon with my other books— Trip Kimball on Amazon
