Matthew 6:1–4 (TPT) 1 “Examine your motives to make sure you’re not showing off when you do your good deeds, only to be admired by others; otherwise, you will lose the reward of your heavenly Father. 2 So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it and make a show of it just to be seen by people, like the hypocrites in the streets and in the marketplace. They’ve already received their reward! 3 But when you demonstrate generosity, do it with pure motives and without drawing attention to yourself. 4 Give secretly and your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly.”
Are there levels to our reward?
In this passage it seems that there are natural rewards and supernatural rewards. and leveling up to the supernatural level requires a heart check.
What is my motivation for generosity? If I am giving in order to get the attention of the people around me, then I will give in such a way that ensures that people see so that I can get credit. Jesus tells us that the law of natural responses is that I will get the accolades of people, but Jesus hints at the fact that this is the entry level blessing/reward. If you want to get the real reward you need to be motivated by the heart of God's love for others.
We give because He gave.
We are filled with a desire to help others because of God's compassion.
AND all of it is done to please Him and not for the accolades of others.
If our motivation is right, then we will give regardless of the optics. We will give because it is the right thing to do.
I do think though, some people go too far the other way as well. Some want to give in secret and then feel that they have blown it if they tell anyone or if anyone finds out. I think in these moments they too have lost their reward! You see, what happens is they become so fixated on the secret part that they miss the love and compassion aspect. In essence they fixate on the not saying anything so much that they make the giving about themselves – it becomes a selfish act.
What is most important is that we give from a heart of love and compassion and that our motivation is pleasing the Father and not doing it to look good before people. When we have that motivation - if it comes to light then no big deal, that is simply the Level 1 reward. With the right motivation you can get Level 1 and Level 2 rewards because your heart is in the right place.
So, what’s your motivation?
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