“PUT DOWN YOUR BULLHORN”
Matthew 6:1-4
There were times where Jesus started out a sentence by saying, “I tell you the truth”. We would say that everything Jesus said is the truth. We would also say that everything Jesus said is important so we might wonder why he sometimes used this phrase. What’s the significance? When Jesus said, “I tell you the truth”, it was a declaration of strong affirmation. It meant that he was placing a strong emphasis on what followed. In the upcoming weeks we’re going to be taking a look at some of the instances where Jesus used this phrase and see what we can gain from them. Today it’s Matt. 6:1-4.
1) Put down your bullhorn (1-2). When Jesus says ‘acts of righteousness’ he is including the three practices that follow in verses 2-18: giving, prayer and fasting. Today we will only be looking at the act of giving. Jesus isn’t saying these three are the only acts of righteousness but it is understood that three of the most important displays of devotion in Jewish religious practice were giving, prayer and fasting so it makes sense why Jesus would highlight these three. In giving to the needy, Jesus said not to announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do; in other words: don’t draw attention to yourself.
Why did Jesus call them hypocrites? Because they only did acts of righteousness before men; to be seen by them. In the Greek, the word hypocrite means an actor who wears a mask. Perhaps this is why in the NIV, ‘acts of righteousness’ is printed using accent marks-because for them that’s what they were-just an act.
Jesus didn’t say that the acts in and of themselves were wrong; he was highlighting their insincere motive. If the deeds weren’t going to be seen they weren’t going to be done. If there wasn’t going to be fanfare they weren’t interested in anyone’s welfare. Generosity wasn’t in their hearts. Achieving recognition was in their hearts. Getting true rewards from God wasn’t on their minds; getting rewarded by man was on their minds.
Jesus is going after the sinful nature. It’s part of our nature to want to build ourselves up to others. It’s part of our old nature to want to get praised for our good deeds. It’s part of our sinful nature to do our unrighteous acts in secret and our righteous ones in the open. This might seem natural but it’s not good and Jesus highlights that reality for us.
The genuine act of righteousness is done with the idea of “how can I bless this person”. The hypocritical act of righteousness is done with the idea of “what’s in it for me”. The genuine act of righteousness is not concerned with anybody finding out. The hypocritical act of righteousness is concerned with everyone finding out. We can be doing the right thing but for the wrong reasons.
“There was a news story back in September of 1997 when Ted Turner announced that he was giving a billion dollars to the United Nations. Although he designated that the money be used to help the extremely poor with food, clothing, and shelter, he made sure his huge donation was seen by everybody. Before he made the gift, Turner notified talk-show host Larry King so he could start circulating the news. And then he made his announcement in a New York ballroom filled with tuxedos, evening gowns, reporters and cameras-the publicity. He has his reward—the approval of men.” One way to tell if I’m giving with the right motive is when it feels just as good, if not better, to give when no one sees it.
“I tell you the truth”. Jesus mentioned in vs. 1 that those who do their ‘acts of righteousness’ to be seen (other translations have ‘honored’) by others will have no reward from God. Now here in vs. 2 he emphasizes that by revealing that they have received their reward in full. It’s as if to say, “listen, you may think they are highly esteemed by God because of what you see them do but don’t be deceived; God will not reward them for it. They already have their reward-the praise and accolades of others.” A good deed may seem genuine until you understand the motive behind it.
“Once there were some vandals who cut down 6 huge royal palms along a major Miami Blvd. The city wasn’t sure if they could pay to replace palms that large. Then someone donated 6 more…even bigger ones. Sounds like a very nice, charitable act, right? The old ones were 15 ft. high and were a nice fore-ground to a billboard which read, ‘Fly Delta’. The new ones were 35 ft. high…completely covering the sign. The new donor: Eastern Airlines!” Jesus shows us the true test to determine our motive in being generous to the poor and needy-how bad do you want to tell others about it.
2) Be quiet about it (3-4). Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. This is talking about those closest to you. We refer to our partner as our “right-hand-man”. Jesus is saying “don’t even announce your good deeds to those closest to you”. We may think it’s okay to tell our loved ones as long as we don’t “announce it in the streets” but the reality is even that’s not okay if we still have a wrong motive. In fact, it may be more tempting for us to tell those closest to us because these would be the people we’re more apt to try to impress or please. We need to be careful about announcing our good deeds even around those closest to us. Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides once said, “Giving is most blessed and most acceptable when the donor remains completely anonymous.”
The Father’s reward; worldly rewards vs. heavenly rewards. Interestingly, there are two different Greek words used for reward here-one for what the hypocrites have received and a different one for what the genuine givers receive. Although both words have the idea of being paid back, there was one adjective found in the definition of reward associated with the genuine giver that wasn’t found in the definition of reward for the hypocrite’s act: fulfill. The hypocrite has received his reward already but the genuine giver will truly be rewarded; truly be fulfilled by the heavenly Father. As Matthew Henry wrote, “He will reward thee as thy Father, not as a master who gives his servant just what he earns and no more, but as a father who gives abundantly more.” The one who commits the act cheaply will be rewarded with cheap applause but the one who is true in his motives will receive the invaluable and incalculable reward.
However, in knowing God will reward us we have to be careful because doing our good deeds for the purpose of God blessing us is not the right motive either. Our motive should be to bring glory to God; not for God to bless us. He will bless us but that’s not to be our focus. And when getting God’s blessing is our focus, chances are we don’t even have the right idea of rewards and blessings. We think of rewards and blessings as us getting what we want. But God’s idea of reward is a lot more holy than that-spiritual blessings. Not that God won’t reward us materially; but that’s not the most precious rewards. When we know our motive is pure there is blessing in knowing that my act was free of blot or blemish; untainted by impurity. That alone brings great blessing.
The irony is, when we do our acts of righteousness to please self we’re never going to be satisfied because our selfish hearts will always crave more acknowledgment and praise. However, when our motive is to please God, we will be rewarded with satisfaction. Watchman Nee once said, “I have never met a soul who has set out to satisfy the Lord and has not been satisfied himself.”
Prov. 11:25, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” When our giving is done with the purest intent, when our act of righteousness is performed with the desire to bring glory to God and bless the lives of others without expecting anything in return, God will make us prosper. We will be taken care of and we will be spiritually refreshed and replenished. We will be blessed and rewarded by our heavenly Father when our acts of righteousness are not an act.
Let me end with a qualifier: I don’t think Jesus is saying it’s wrong to tell someone about your good deeds; the more important thing is what is your motive for telling? If it’s to bring glory to God for how that humbled you or gave you godly satisfaction then that’s good. If you’re out in public one day and there’s an opportunity to bless someone it’s not like God doesn’t want you to because there will be witnesses. In fact Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise you Father in heaven. There’s the difference; it’s all about our motive.
If our genuine act of righteousness can be used as an inspiration for others to do likewise then great. If our desire when we let our light shine is for praise, glory and honor to be given to God and not us then we have the right attitude about it. But if we like to toot our own horn and have people clapping their hands and patting us on the back when we do a good deed then-I tell you the truth-you have received your reward in full.
