You’ve probably read many stories in the news about a random act of kindness. Many of them go viral. You might have seen videos recording extremely generous acts of kindness. The posts receive many likes and comments from well wishers mentioning how “good” the person is. And the person often enjoys the accoclades.
But Christ’s command to believers is to give or do good for God’s glory, not for our glory (Matthew 6:2-4).The entire purpose of giving is to give back to others because God has given us the ultimate gift — his Son! This is not given because we deserve it, but by God’s grace. So should be our motive in giving.
Because we have the greatest gift of all, we are considered to be wealthy in spirit, and because of that overflowing wealth, we should feel compelled to give as an act of service to God. When we do that, others will wonder what’s going on. They will want to know more about our secret “wealth,” which truly lies within our hearts, regardless of our financial status.
The reward for publicly displaying acts of kindness is self-glory and praise. It’s not lasting though. The reward our Heavenly Father bestows to us who give graciously is eternal and much more important than what other humans think. We should strive for humility and to let others regard us instead of tooting our own horn. That is when we will truly be blessed!
Dear Lord, thank you for giving us the ultimate sacrifice of your Son. Without him, we would not be where we are today. Help us to honor you by sharing the abundance of blessings you have given to us. Amen.
Go Deeper — Think of a way to give extra this month (not necessarily money). Do something without sharing what you’ve done with anyone, and instead give God the glory.
Read Further — Have you ever heard of Spiritual Generosity?
Photo Credit: Hello I'm Nik