Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

October 11
Thursday


WHY DO
WE GIVE?

READ:
Matthew 6:1-4
___________________________

when you do a
charitable deed, do
not let your left hand
know what your right
hand is oding.
__Matthew 6:3
_____________________________

What ever happened to the notion of giving for the sake of giving?" asked Tim Harford, columnist for Financial Times. "The closer you look at charitable giving, the less charitable it apears to be." A study of door-to-door fund-raising campaigns, for instance, found that organizations earned far more by selling lottery tickets than by asking for donations.

"This hardly suggests a world populated by altruists seeking to do the maximum good with their cahritable cash," says Harford. At least for some poeople, there's a something-for-me/ something-for-your approach to giving.

Jesus also dealt with the issue of motives in giving. When He said not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. He was teaching that our motives for giving to God and to others must be pure. Our giving should be in response to God's love. To encourage pure motives, Jesus instructs people to give and to do good deeds in secret with no thought of themselves. God, who sees everything, will reward them (Matt.6:3-4).

Our generosity should be God-centered--not to make us look good, but to please the Lord. With your next good deed, ask yourself: If I knew that no one would ever find out that I did this, would I still do it? __Marvin Williams
____________________________________________________________

~~~~~~~~~~~~Grant us, then, the grace for giving~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~with a spirit large and free,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~That our life and all our living~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~We may consecrate to Thee. __Murray~~~~~~~~~~~
____________________________________________________________

God sees the giver as well as the gift;
the heart as well as the hand.

**************Today's Bible Reading __ Matthew 6:1-4*************

1 Take heed that you do
not do your charitable
deeds before men, to be
seen by them. Otherwise
you have no reward from
your Father in heaven.

2 Therefore, when you do
a charitable deed, do not
sound a trumpet before you
as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the
streets, that they may have
glory from men. Assuredly,
I say to you, they have their
reward. 3 But when you do
a chritable deed, do not let
your left hand know what
your right hand is doing.

4 that your cahritable deed may be in secret; and your
Father who sees in secret
will Himself reward you
openly.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Charity was central to Jewish piety. There were those who falsely
claimed that it saved a person. Some commentators have taken the
reference to a trumpet sounding (v.2) as a figure of speech. Rather
than meaning a literal blowing of the trumpets, it is more likely a
play on words, since charity boxes were often shaped like trumpets.