Stepping Stones For Victorious Christ Centered Living #15 Becoming a God Honoring Secret Servant of The Lord: Giving

To Be Praise or Not To Be Praised?

Some people, who propose to be seen as Christ Followers, unadvisedly, and all too often,  find themselves looking to receive the praise of other people.  Awards, decorations, trophies, accolades, being on stage to receive applause, becomes a huge part of their daily walk. The outcome of such behavior will leave them drowning at side of the Cross rather than abiding on it. And this is against the will of God for such spiritual going under to occur. Jesus has a better way. It is the way of the God Honoring Secret Servant of The Lord.

Christ Stepping Stone: Secret Giving

If you read Matthew 6:1-4, You will find how important it is to Jesus, and by extension to following Christ, to give secretly. He tells us not to practice our righteousness for the purpose of being seen by others. And then He says something that should really get  our attention:  He says, "If you do, you will have NO reward from your Father in Heaven."  Say what? That's right, if you give to put on a show, God's reward is a big old "NO!" Jesus goes on to explain a little more:

Check this out, as He explains in a little more detail. Jesus adds, "So, when you give to the needy, don't announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogue, and on the streets, to be honored by others." Then He makes another declaration: Truly, they have received their rewards in full." 

Think of what He is saying. Giving for show means NO reward in Heaven AT ALL.  But there is more: Giving to receive acclaim God sees as hypocritical, but there is still more: The ONLY reward given for giving for show is the little bit of praise people give you, and that is it!  Yikes! What a bummer! The only reward is a few words "for he's a jolly good fellow."  Really? Yes, really.  

The Left Hand Keeping Secrets From The Right Hand

If all this is so, what's a person to do?  Well, I am glad you asked. Jesus gives us some really good ancient wisdom to bless our lives to the maximum. What He says may sound a little bit odd, but He says it as He does to make a point. And the point is to understand how important embracing this wisdom is in the eternal scheme of things.  He wants us to really know how important it is to be a God honoring, secret, servant of the Lord.  Please, I hope you have ears to hear Jesus impart these words: "But when you give to the needy, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be done in secret." Why is this something we need to know?  Are you ready for this? This is really good: "Then your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you!"

There you have it. Do you want to lose your reward, and not have one from your Heavenly Father? Well, go ahead and give for the purpose of being seen as some kind of special giver. Do this, and you automatically lose your Father's reward He wants you to have.  Do you want to be called a hypocrite from Heaven, then go and trumpet your giving so folks can pat you on the back. Do you want to receive only people's praise for what you do. Then live accordingly, and that is all the reward you will receive. However, and yet, if you simply honor God by giving as secretly as you possibly can give, your Father in Heaven makes it clear He will reward you! And I think this reward will be in this life, and it will be in Heaven where you will have a Heavenly reward waiting for you. Let's decide to be anonymous givers, and let God take care of everything else. This is another  Stepping Stone for Victorious Christ Centered Living.

Keep reading in the coming days, and more will be said, God willing, about being a God Honoring Secret Servant of The Lord. I think, if you apply these pearls of wisdom, you will find them rewarding.

God Bless You.

SoJourner