Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:1-4
The word alms means money, clothes, food, and other things given to poor people. When God speaks to us about giving alms, it is always about giving to others. The verses that are referenced today explain that we need to be careful to have the right motivation when we are doing good unto others. Have you ever done something that was a good thing, in and of itself, but deep in your heart, the real reason you were doing it was for the praise or credit you knew would be forthcoming? You'd not be human if you've never done that; all of us have done the right thing for the wrong reason.
Be careful, girls, when the praise of men is what we are seeking, it will be what we wind up with. Notice the reward...the glory of men. To receive the eternal rewards, we need to be careful that our acts of kindness are done for the honor of the Lord Jesus. Having said that, let me explain something. There will be times when we do the right things for the right reasons that people notice or find out. Don't be bothered thinking that because someone noticed your kindness that your reward in heaven is diminished; that's not so unless your purpose for the good deed in the first place was to be seen.
Be kind, do kind things; but, do so not caring who gets the credit.
Be careful, girls, when the praise of men is what we are seeking, it will be what we wind up with. Notice the reward...the glory of men. To receive the eternal rewards, we need to be careful that our acts of kindness are done for the honor of the Lord Jesus. Having said that, let me explain something. There will be times when we do the right things for the right reasons that people notice or find out. Don't be bothered thinking that because someone noticed your kindness that your reward in heaven is diminished; that's not so unless your purpose for the good deed in the first place was to be seen.
Be kind, do kind things; but, do so not caring who gets the credit.
Scripture Reading for the Day:
Proverbs 4
I Timothy 2
This reminds me of the saying, "take all those crowns of glory and cast them at the Savior's feet."
ReplyDeleteThis is such an important thing to remember. We should never do something right because we are seeking praise. Sometimes when we do something we want everyone to know, but that is why it is important to remain humble!
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