www.FlyingHigher.net - Snippets from the Good Book #10

This Is All You Get!

1) Take Care! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2) When you give a gift to someone in need, don't shout about it as the hypocrites do - - blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3) But when you give to someone, don't tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. 4) Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

Matthew 6:1-4

Ken Stoltzfus

In the church we enthusiastically preach the principle of Luke 6:38. We "claim" the promises of Proverbs 3:9,10, Malachi 3:10-12 and II Corinthians 9:6. But we conveniently avoid the truth of Matthew 6:1-4.

There's a scary principle there. It says that if we deliberately offer our gifts in a way that draws attention to ourselves, the attention we get is our total reward. Don't expect anything further from God - - in spite of the promises. God had a signed check ready for us, but we wrote "VOID" across the front of it.

I was involved in a capital campaign for a Christian school a few years back. Our success depended on the gifts of many, but there were, as is usually the case, several larger donors. All of them wanted to be anonymous. No names engraved in stone. No plaques on doors. I am certain they would not have given otherwise. There is a deeply profound statement in that.

Interestingly, there were others who were ready to make a nice contribution but wanted public recognition. The board decided that we, the capital campaign committee, could not do that. We lost the gift. There is a deeply profound statement there as well. The donors lost more than we did.

I cringe when I see donors' names emblazoned across a building of a Christian institution. I believe that when institutions do that in order to motivate a donor, they cheat them of God's reward for the gift. Read Matthew 6:1-4 again.

Even if we didn't insist on having our name in high profile, it is risky business to set oneself up by allowing others to make a public display of our gift. The temptation to pride can be almost unbearable. And we begin to define ourselves by our wealth. I Timothy 6:17-19 ought to be considered here.

Because of its eagerness to get money, the church has often been unwise in assigning honor to those with wealth. There is an assumption that the wealth of a Christian is a mark of God's blessing. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is not. There are many ways to gain wealth.

Even if wealth is gained in an honorable way, the gift to gain it has been given by God, for His purposes. In God's eyes, the wealthy Christian is no freer to use his gift for pleasure or fame, than the gifted pastor is free to use his abilities in such a way.

If one truly has the Biblical sense of stewardship, then he/she recognizes that wealth has merely been entrusted to them by God, to be used for His purposes. It is not their own. It has God's name on it, not theirs. That attitude will shape how it is received, and given.

Giving huge amounts should be the norm for Christians with wealth. If what they have is truly from God, than it was entrusted to them to pass on. For His glory, not theirs. Give. And give more. And give again. Wherever God directs. And then do it again.

Generosity is measured more by what we have left, than by what we give. One church I was part of had an annual Faith Promise Offering. We would fill out cards with our commitment for the next year. The cards were collected and the amounts read off. For several years the large amounts were held until the end for special honor. Why? I protested. It was much easier for some people to give $20,000 than for others to give $200. If we gave honor as God does, it would change a lot of things! Maybe it is the $200 donors who ought to have their name on a plaque!

Whenever we give, in order to get recognition or respect, we have our full reward right there. God longs to reward us for our giving. To heap it back upon us. But we must do it His way.

There is a special joy in giving anonymously. In one church where I served we had envelopes that we could put cash in, and then put someone's name on it. We would drop it in the offering basket and the treasurer would give it to the person.* Quite a bit of love-money circulated across the church that way. It is amazing how much of an encouragement even $10 can be to someone in need. The value in their life is far greater than the dollar amount.

I have been blessed in the past decade or two, to be close to a number of younger families whom God has entrusted with wealth. They know why God gave it to them. They don't live "high". They move easily among folks of more average income. They are "real". They just give and give and give. Quietly. God pours it in, they pour it out. His work is extended tremendously through them.

There is a genuineness about their lives that escapes many rich folk. It is the "Amen!" of God. The mark of the Matthew 6:4 reward. Now that is true riches!

And let me tell you about the capital campaign at that little school. There was an awesome and widespread sense that God was in it. Utility companies did more than they needed to. A man we bought some building materials from, who had no other connection with the school, came back with a very nice gift. He said, "There's something going on here and I want to be part of it." No man or woman's name rose to the surface. It was a God-thing. An overwhelming success financially and a profoundly spiritual experience. It was marked by His presence. He delights in doing that as we walk in His ways!

*Don't worry, it wasn't "run through the church" as a tax-deductible gift, but God's reward is better than Uncle Sam's anyway!

Born in 1940, Ken Stoltzfus has worked as a pilot, ordained Christian minister, businessman, missionary to Africa and writer. This is #10 in his series "Snippets from the Good Book", and is one of many short articles that can be found at www.flyinghigher.net

© 2003, Ken Stoltzfus, flyinghigher.net, P.O. Box 548, Apple Creek, OH 44606 USA. May be printed for personal use and may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes without further permission if proper acknowledgment is given and a copy is sent to the author.