When You Give

Day 14

When You Give

‘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 honoured by others. Truly I tell you, 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 6:2-4

 

This world that God created, this life He gave us was always brim-full with abundance and generosity, life and overflowing blessing. 

“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’

Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.” Genesis 1:28-31

God blessed them, God gave them all they needed, God saw all He had made and said it was good. Because it was. Brimming over with abundant generous goodness. 

But the world we human beings have re-created post-fall has fallen far from this. In this world that now runs on money and greed we have succumbed to the lie of grasping scarcity. The lie that there is not enough. And living in this lie we grow hard hearted and tight fisted towards those in need around us. 

So God incarnate comes to breathe life back into His creation. He sits on this mountainside rich with beauty and far reaching views and He names us children of our heavenly Father and He reminds us what living as His children looks like, He reminds us about how to be human…

‘So when you give to the needy…’ Matthew 6:2-4

So when you give… He doesn’t say if you give, but when. Giving is an assumption in our Kingdom family culture. Generosity and particularly giving to the poor was a standard practice for Jews from the time God called them into being as a people.

From the inception of Israel as a small nation they had been instructed to give generously and freely with a particular focus on the poor, “Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:11

But even from the beginning God, through Moses challenged His people to be wary of their own mixed motivations in giving, warning them, “do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted” and exhorting them not to look for loop holes in their generosity…

“Be careful not to harbour this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near,’ so that you do not show ill will towards the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart” Deuteronomy 15:9-10a

God knows that human beings have a particular frailty fuelled by fears of scarcity of resource and scarcity of self-worth. The lie of scarcity is the antithesis of the Eden story where abundance and generosity flowed freely to and through us. 

But since that one sad day in that garden long ago, after human beings chose the fruit that mixed the knowledge of good and evil together (Genesis 3:5) we ourselves have become mixed with double mindedness and mixed motivations. Fears of being unseen and insignificant, of not being enough or having enough, mix in our veins and fuel our choices.

God knows this, and warned Israel about it from the beginning. Jesus knows this, and warns the new Israel, God’s Kingdom family likewise…

‘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 honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.’

Matthew 6:2-4

The trap of ‘looking good’ fuels our human ego in broken directions. Our generosity can fall prey to the same very human motivations of seeking the approval and respect of others, fuelled by the scarcity mentality that we need their approval in order to be enough. 

Jesus practical answer is simple…

‘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 6:2-4

‘Then your Father, who sees…’ Three times in this and the coming passages Jesus says..“Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret…”

Jesus calls God our Father. Jesus says God sees us. We are not orphans hustling for our own well being or sense of self worth. We do not need to look to the praise and approval of this world to be enough. We are seen. We are loved. There is no scarcity of love for us, and we are not less. It is for our Heavenly Father alone that we give, our audience of one.

This Kingdom we are called to, this family we are welcomed into brims over with blessing and abundance. We give freely, because our lives are full and brimming over with the the deep riches of this Kingdom- a kind of wealth that no money can buy. Treasure that cannot be quantified or understood. 

From this place of fullness, unmixed and and whole hearted, we are called to give generously…unseen by any but our Father Who loves generously and loves His children to resemble His generous spirit…

“Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures for ever.’

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!’ 

2 Corinthians 9: 6-15

 

Let’s give thanks to Our Heavenly Father who sees us, for the indescribable gift of His presence with us. 

 

 

 

Journaling The Journey 

Twice this passage states ‘But when you give to the needy’. It assumes generosity to the needy. Is generosity an assumption in your life and practice?

Three times in this and the coming passages Jesus says..“Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret…” 

Jesus calls God your Father. Jesus says God sees you, even when no-one else sees you. 

What does this mean for you?

How might this perspective, if you lived in it, alter your motivations and actions?

What challenges are there for you in this passage?

 

Today’s Mountainside Photograph was taken by David Campbell at Trestle Mountain in the Kunanyi Mountain Range,  Southern Tasmania, Australia.