When It Comes To Giving, What Is The “Reward In Full” That We’re Hoping For? Either less private guilt or more public praise.
- Let’s look at two of the biggest “rewards”:
a. Less private guilt.
- Sometime we give out of sense of guilt: the homeless man at the side of the road, the plea from the preacher that the church is $30,000 behind budget, the starving child on TV.
- We feel guilty and we give to lessen that guilt.
- I’m not saying that guilt is intrinsically wrong. Sometimes we need some guilt because we’re being shallow.
- The important thing to note here is that God is really not in play in our decision.
b. More public praise.
- How could you get public praise for that? Let’s count some of the ways that happen every day in America:
1. Framed certificates.
2. Published names of the “generous supporters” (sorted by their giving levels).
- Those giving levels are often given clever names (Partner; Eagle Club; Gold Level; and similar drivel).
3. Gifts equal access to the preacher.
4. Gifts equal attention from the preacher.
5. Just knowing that the church leadership knows who the big givers are.
6. Plaques.
7. Named buildings.
8. Thanks from the pulpit.
9. Thanks from that person.
10. Mentioning our giving to someone.
- In each case our focus is on knowing that a person (or people) know that we gave (and usually how much we gave).
- Who among us doesn’t love to be asked about our newest purchase – purse, iPhone, car, golf clubs, house, jewelry?
- We’ve even got a well-known phrase to describe that happening: conspicuous consumption. We’re spending our money in ways that will get noticed publicly.
- I think that’s one of the big things that pushes “early adopters” of technology – to be the first of their friends to have a gadget and to be able to brag.
- It might be worth noting here that there is a difference between character and reputation.
- Our reputation is dependent on what other people think of us. Sometimes it’s accurate; sometimes it’s not.
- Our character is who we really are. It’s not dependent on anyone else’s thoughts about us.
- To cite one example, it’s interesting how radically the reputations of presidents shift over time. Some who are considered great as they leave office are seen as lackluster a couple generations later (Kennedy comes to mind). Some who are reviled during their generation are seen as great by the eyes of history (Lincoln comes to mind).
- We, of course, need to be focused on our character, not our reputation. There’s nothing wrong (and much good) about having a good reputation, but our path for achieving that should be the pursuit of a good character.
How To Be Rewarded By God:
- There a number of good motivations for our giving:
a. Thanksgiving for our salvation.
b. Desire to invest in the Kingdom.
c. Knowledge that what you give (to the Kingdom) you get to keep (eternally), but what you spend (on worldly stuff) you lose (by leaving in this life).
d. Wanting to be rewarded by God.
- Those are all worthy and important motivations, but let’s focus on the reward aspect since that’s what our passage focuses on.
- I should note that it’s ok to want to be rewarded. That shouldn’t be our total motivation, but it’s a good thing to want to be praised and honored by God. Our life focus should be on hearing Him say “Well done” and going right along with that is the idea that we’ll be rewarded for the way we’ve lived for Christ.
1. Keep your giving as private as you can.
- Matthew 6:1, 2 - “to be seen by men,” “to be honored by men.”.
- v. 1 – “to be seen by men”
- v. 2 – “do not announce. . . to be honored by men.”
- The “top 10” list above are things we should avoid. In fact, we should be deliberate in avoiding them so that we can anticipate a reward from God.
- It’s sad to think how much money has been given to the Kingdom that will receive no reward from God.
- Us: “But I gave a million toward that seminary’s new dorm!” God: “Yeah, but look who’s name is on the building!”
- Us: “I was a tither for 40 years to my church!” God: “Yeah, a fact that you never failed to mention to the preacher whenever you wanted something from him!”
- Be deliberate in keeping your giving quiet so that you can anticipate God’s reward someday.
- It’s an interesting phrase there in v. 3 – “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
- Does this mean that it’s wrong to give with a check?
- I think there is a danger in being legalistic here and issuing a blanket edict.
- One person may give with a check just because it’s easier and not think or care one bit that the treasurer sees the money.
- Another person may give with a check only because they want to deduct it from their taxes (although few of us give enough for that to apply).
- Someone else may like being known, even just among the Finance Committee, as a big giver in the church.
- I think the key is looking at our motivation.
- If there’s any question, maybe we should switch to cash.
2. Live with an open hand toward God.
- Matthew 6:3 – “give to the needy”
- Low percentage of Christians giving indicates that few of us are living this way.
- We live with closed hands too often and when we give to someone from “our money” we expect praise in return.
- It’s not “our money” – explain the 10%/90% idea.
- Who’s money is it? Is it our’s or God’s?
- Living with our hands (and our wallet) open toward God.
- “I can’t afford to give.” That’s a statement of distrust toward God.
- There has never been a pay period where I had more excess than what I gave to God. That is to say, there’s never been a pay period where I couldn’t have used that giving money for something else.
- Trusting that you can’t outgive God.
- Is your trust in your bank account or in your God?
- Giving what we could have used elsewhere is a statement of trust in God.
- Giving is the antidote to materialism.
- Side note: our giving to churches seldom translates into giving to the needy. Why? Because we spend too much on buildings and salaries, leaving little for room to actually help people and their real-life needs.
3. Rest in the truth that God gives best to those who leave the choice to Him.
- Matthew 6:4 – “your Father. . . will reward you”
- What would being rewarded by God look like?
a. Knowing He’ll care for our financial needs.
- Matthew 6:33.
- God rewarding us does not mean that He’ll make you a millionaire.
b. Knowing He’ll bring peace and joy into our lives.
c. Knowing the greatest blessings in life aren’t material.
- We need to trust in God’s goodness.
- One response to v. 4 could be “Why should I give my money to God and then have Him reward – why not cut out the middle man and reward myself with that money?!?”
- Know that it pleases God that we want to please Him.
4. Don’t let it become a duty – take a moment to commit your gift to God.
- Matthew 6:4 – “your Father. . . will reward you”
- Just a final observation: I think it’s easy over time for giving that was started with a heart to honor God to become just another check that’s written. We may fail to think about the fact that we’re investing in the Kingdom of God. We may fail to think about the fact that we’re putting first things first.
- One key part of the reward coming is that we need to expect the reward. We need to anticipate God’s reward for our giving. It’s not necessarily that God will fail to be generous otherwise – it’s that we’ll fail to recognize it.
- It’s kind of like when you buy a new car and then suddenly you notice the same model everywhere you drive. They’ve been there – you just haven’t been paying attention.
- Maybe your little prayer as you give is something like, “Let me live in Your goodness, Father” or “Let me live in Your overflow, Lord” or “This is my expression of my trust in You” or “This is my way to show I believe in Your goodness.”
