Matthew 6:1-4

Relax, Read and Reflect.
Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Jesus teaches how to give to the needy. You would think this lesson would not need a title. Who would think there is a bad way? Not really a bad way, just not the Jesus way.
Do you think Jesus and God need to be told when we do good deeds? Not really, they know the deeds before they are done. So who are we trying to impress? Our friend? (That was a typo, making it singular, but I think I will leave it.) The needy? Perhaps, but usually they just want the help, not the fanfare. After all, the fanfare draws attention to the fact they need help. So we must be doing this to impress ourselves, for me that is easy.
When you make a fuss about the good you do, and you get praise, that is our reward. Shouldn’t we be looking for a greater reward than fleeting praise? Jesus thinks so. He tells us our motives must be pure. Why do you give?
Prayer- Lord, Help us do your work, but remind us that we need to do because we love you, not for praise for ourselves. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Viva Jesus!