ROSE AND LINDA'S BLOG GIVING

Matthew 6:1  Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

The Jewish people during the time of Jesus had three fundamental ways of 'practicing righteousness':  almsgiving, praying, and fasting.  Jesus never said there was anything wrong in doing these things, but He spoke on the right way to do them.

verse 2  So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the street, so that they may be honored by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Have you known someone to gift you something, and then let everyone know they gave it to you.  It is quite different for us to say it was a gift, then for one to say 'I gifted it'.  We remember the child who was gifted clothes going to school and being told 'That was mine', the child never wore anything given to her from that person again.

verse 3-4 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

We have had friends ask us, 'Do you know anyone that needs this?'  and we gave a name.  Then they ask can you pass it on to them, "They don't need to know who gave it.'

With the storms we suffer here on the Gulf as in other places, we have saw the people reach out giving and sharing asking nothing in return.  We have also saw those that let it be known they were doing such and such.  Whose reward is greater?

How many times do we read in the paper of someone dying and leaving a large sum of money to a organization or to set up a scholarship fund .  Usually it is a janitor or house keeper, someone known for kindness,  that come to find out had been doing it for years.  We wonder how they would feel to know their personal business was 'out there'.  These people were giving from their hearts.

Hebrews 6:10  God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His Name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.

When you give, give from your heart, not for personal gain or to be seen for doing it.

God Bless

recj/LJG