LIFE LESSON FOR TODAY, 11/20/13
Matthew 6:1
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.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
During Bible days, charity to unfortunate people was
called alms. It was a considered to be an expression
of love. The Bible book of Luke 11 discusses whether
the reason for giving was love.
The book of Matthew
explains that you should give because of
love and
not because it is your duty. The followers of Jesus
felt that He
showed the ultimate meaning of love by
His sacrifice on the cross. His
sacrifice is discussed
in detail in the Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John.
I guess it maybe human nature for some people
to want
to brag about their humanitarian deeds.
Some people are able to give millions
to their
favorite charity. Other people donate
their time,
when they don’t have dollars to give. Either way
these deeds are commendable. Some organizations
show their gratitude by naming buildings after their
benefactors.
The point of this scripture is the motive behind the person’s
donation. The donation may have been given because the
person has compassion
for underprivileged people. In some
cases, the donation was given because of the person has an ulterior motive. Some benefactors give large sums of money
to
churches and non-profit organizations. They make sure
people know the amount of
the donation. These people
demand favors, privileges, notoriety, and respect
because
they gave a large amount of money.
They have already
received their reward from the media and/or the organization
they donated to. There are some humble benefactors that
stipulate that they
remand anonymous and that the amount
they gave never be revealed.
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