Don’t shout about it

Jesus said: ‘Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in Heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do... to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, for then you will lose the reward from your Father in Heaven... But when you do a kindness to someone, do it secretly... And your Father who knows all secrets will reward you.’ (Matthew 6:1–4 CSB) Give generously and gladly but keep it to yourself. It’s nobody’s business but yours and God’s.

And if you make it somebody’s business, you immediately have your reward and forfeit the opportunity to receive something even greater when you arrive in Heaven. And you will receive it because ‘God is not unjust; He… will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people.’ (Hebrews 6:10 NIV) Others may not notice your generosity or quickly forget it, but God won’t, and He will reward you for it.

The next time you’re in church, realise there are faithful people all around you who have given and given again without ever letting it be known. You may even be one of them! Every Sunday, you rub shoulders with some of the greatest givers of our day, and they do it ‘as to the Lord’ (Colossians 3:23 KJV) by keeping it to themselves and waiting for His promised reward. Others may never know—but God will never forget.