On Giving

On Giving
“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. 
“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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  
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. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:1-4
Jesus said,
“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.
God knows our hearts and that’s how we should be giving.  Not out of sense obligations that you must give ten percent or the belief that God will give more back to you.  We must give from the heart because we want to.
My father a non-Christian, who had grown up in England, in the Church of England, and knew Scripture very well, had one problem with the North American church. Particularly evangelicals. To his mind they were always asking for money and making God out to be some kind of banker.
On the odd time, he had gone to an evangelical church, he was very upset at, as he called it, “the sermon for money before the real sermon.”
He didn’t like seeing plaques on pews or in stairwells saying “donated by”.  A plaque, saying in memory of, he understood and accepted, but the best way to get him on a tirade was to see a “donated by” plaque.
He firmly believed all his life, that if you were going to give to charity, any charity, give, in his word “and don’t expect recognition,” he didn’t believe in putting any of his charitable donations on his tax form.
Mark 12:41-44 records,
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  
They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” 
          Mark 12:41-44
We all must remember that yes we should give to the LORD’s service, but it should never be out of obligation or a desire for reward or recognition.
We should give as much as we can give, when we can. And we must give it out of a cheerful heart, expecting nothing in return.
Think about it.