Wednesday, November 4, 2009
How to Give
(Matthew 6:1-4)
Proper giving involves several key elements: the giver, the gift, the giving, and the response from God. Giving is more than obligatory support for the local church; it is a Christian grace with a divinely prescribed method.
Today’s passage assumes that believers will be involved in giving, “when thou doest thine alms,” not “if thou doest” them. Christian believers should be givers, supporting their local church with their tithe, world evangelism with their offerings, and the poor with their alms. Christians who do not give can hardly be regarded as Christian!
The specific gift addressed in Matthew 6 is the “alms” gift. It is a gift designated to alleviate the sufferings of the poor. At Faith Baptist Church we give our alms through the Deacons’ Fund offerings taken at the close of the Lord’s Supper service.
The act of giving should be one of modesty and privacy. It is neither becoming nor beneficial to make grand displays in giving. In fact, seeking public acknowledgement for one’s giving actually eliminates the real reward. Giving, then, should be discrete—between the worshipper and God.
Finally, our giving always elicits a response from God. If one gives for temporal acknowledgment by men, he looses his eternal reward (1). When giving is done “in secret,” God will reward the giver “openly,” in a very public and very obvious way (4). How God responds to our giving depends how we give. Let’s be careful to get giving right!
