Behold, for we have reached the end of Matthew 5 and it’s only taken just over half a year! I’d like to continue with the rest of Jesus’ teaching in what’s traditionally called the Sermon on the Mount, with the same underlying theme always in mind: how do these teachings of Jesus enable us to live in 2024 in a way that’s both counter-cultural and faithful to God?
Let’s read Matthew 6:1-4
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others 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 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.”
This is the first of three teachings in which Jesus warned his listeners against hypocrisy in their religious observations. Charitable giving (v1-4), prayer (v5-15) and fasting (v16-18) were all religious practices which the Jewish people were expected to adhere to by the Law of Moses in the Old Testament.
We’ll discuss later whether and how these same practices are applicable in the lives of Christians today, but the first point I want to make is simply this: in these first three sections of chapter 6, Jesus was teaching specifically about righteousness in terms of religious observance and how it ought and ought not to be done.
This is distinct from chapter 5, in which Jesus’ teaching was focused on righteousness in terms of moral behaviour, and how the moral principles God wanted humanity to live by often went far beyond a simple surface reading of the Old Testament laws.
This distinction helps us understand the apparent contradiction between these opening verses of chapter 6, in which Jesus taught that charitable giving ought to be done in secret, and chapter 5 verse 16 in which he taught “…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven“.
At first glance it looks as if he’s said one thing and then very soon afterwards followed it up by saying the exact opposite.
When we were going through chapter 5, I suggested one possible difference: in 5:16 Jesus taught that good works should give glory to God, while in 6:1-4 he taught that good works should not be done to draw attention to or gain praise for ourselves. In that sense, there is no contradiction. He’s simply differentiating between right and wrong motivations for doing good works.
However, in 6:1-4 it seems he was addressing the topic of charitable giving specifically as a religious observance, not simply as a general act of kindness or compassion for the poor.
There are various instructions in the Old Testament law about the importance of giving to the poor, which can take the form of either giving aid to someone directly or contributing to a more centralised and organised fund which can then be distributed wherever there is need.
In the context of these verses it seems more likely Jesus was talking here about a system of organised contribution which was carried out on a regular basis – perhaps the modern equivalent would be putting money in the collection at church on Sunday, as opposed to one-off situational giving such as offering food to a homeless person you pass in the street.
Whereas in chapter 5 he took instructions from the Old Testament and explained what the deeper – and far more taxing – meaning of them really was, in the first half of chapter 6 his approach was slightly different. He gave three examples of common Jewish religious practice – charitable giving, prayer and fasting – and showed that there was both a wrong way and a right way to do them.
The wrong way
He instructed his followers not to perform regular acts of charitable giving “as the hypocrites do“.
What did he mean by this? Who were “the hypocrites”?
In general terms, the hypocrites would appear to have been anyone whose religious observances were intended to attract attention and look good in the eyes of others. To be specific, based on what Jesus said in Matthew 5:20 (“…unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law…”) and the several times he called those people hypocrites in Matthew 23, that’s almost certainly who he had in mind.
Remember, the Pharisees were seen as the paragons of Jewish religious practice, the spiritual superheroes looked up to by the ordinary people, as opposed to the privileged and comfortable Sadduccees who were seen as collaborators with the Roman colonisers. That sort of ‘superhero’ reputation, once attained, is incredibly difficult to let go of. While the Pharisees no doubt enjoyed the adulation and respect, they probably also felt a great deal of pressure to maintain their image. That could explain why they felt the need to announce their charitable donations “with trumpets” – whether that meant literally having someone blow instruments as part of a ritual or whether Jesus was speaking metaphorically.
For these people, giving money for charitable use was a vehicle for maintaining their own reputation and honour. It wasn’t about giving out of humility in order to honour God, or giving out of compassion for those who would ultimately benefit from their contribution.
As a general principle, this teaches us that it’s possible to do a good thing, or to do something which God has commanded, in such a way that it ceases to be a good thing.
Some people might take a more utilitarian view that it doesn’t matter how the charitable donation is given, as long as it’s given in sufficient quantity that the money can be used for good causes. The needs of the poor are the priority.
That is not the view which Jesus took. While he certainly didn’t minimise in any way the need to care for the poor, he insisted that it does matter what kind of attitude is in your heart when you make your charitable donations. In fact, it matters so much that Jesus warned “you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” if your attitude isn’t right.
Still the wrong way
Jesus said “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing“. This is a figure of speech, probably based on the fact that most people are right-handed and therefore the right hand would normally be the one which physically deposited the charitable gift. By using this figure of speech, Jesus may have been teaching another important principle: even if you are careful to avoid publicising the details of your charitable gift for others to see, it’s still possible to fall into the trap of self-congratulation.
John Stott in The Message of the Sermon on the Mount puts it like this:
Not only are we not to tell other people about our Christian giving; there is a sense in which we are not even to tell ourselves. We are not to be self-conscious in our giving, for our self-consciousness will readily deteriorate into self-righteousness. So subtle is the sinfulness of the heart that it is possible to take deliberate steps to keep our giving secret from men while simultaneously dwelling on it in our own minds in a spirit of self-congratulation.
The danger here is that successfully following Jesus’ teaching to keep our giving secret can also be a source of pride in one’s own virtue. His point is not so much that it must be done in secret, but that it must be done in a way that glorifies God, not you or me. Doing it in secret is one part of that. Keeping pride out of your own heart is another.
The right way
Giving what you can and doing so willingly, motivated by compassion for those in need, and in humility glorifying God and not yourself, is what Jesus wants.
You don’t need to worry about what other people think of your gift. You certainly don’t need to feel a sense of competition with others. It’s between you and God, and as Jesus said, God will give you the only reward that really matters.
While Jesus appears to have been speaking in the context of regular, organised giving as a religious duty, there is no reason why the same principles cannot apply to making charitable donations or performing acts of compassion in other contexts as well.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, there may be situations in which an act of kindness or a means of raising money for a good cause cannot realistically be done in secret. Some of the examples I gave were running a marathon for charity or adopting a child. Does that mean you should avoid doing such things?
I don’t think we need to go to the extreme of only ever doing good works in total secrecy and anonymity. Sometimes that won’t be possible. Yet in situations in which other people seeing your good works is unavoidable, perhaps you have to make all the more effort to ensure the honour for your deeds is ascribed to God and not to yourself. That could mean, for example, openly redirecting towards God any praise or gratitude you receive for yor actions.
Remember – this matters. It’s not a case of the ends justifying the means, in which anything goes as long as a good cause is provided for. The attitude in your heart matters just as much, perhaps even more than, the actions you perform.
Nihilist to Christian 
Very true
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