But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
In the Sermon on the Mount Christ taught that giving to the needy must not be done for display or human approval, and good deeds may be seen when they lead others to glorify God rather than the giver. The secrecy He calls for is so complete that the act draws no attention even in the giver's own mind, being done freely without self-display or self-congratulation. True charity springs from pity and love for sufferers with a pure, humble motive for God's glory rather than praise or reputation, for God judges gifts by their motives and rewards what is done for Him rather than for human acclaim. Such secret kindness and self-sacrifice bless both giver and receiver, build unselfish character, bind hearts together, and draw hearts toward God. This call to quiet giving never excuses covetousness, withholding, giving little, or neglecting the worthy poor nearby, but rebukes showy generosity while calling for humble, faithful use of means to help others and advance God's cause.
Words and Historical Setting
The saying belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, where the principles and conditions of God's kingdom are taught to correct false ideas of worldly greatness. It is part of that sermon’s revelation of the far-reaching, heart-level principles of God’s law, showing that the state of the heart regulates life and character and that the spirit of the law must be in the heart, so that new converts are rightly instructed in the claims of the law only when impressed with these inward principles. It belongs to the pure gospel given upon the Mount that explains God’s holy law and sets the holy standard of character, requiring love to God with the whole heart and love to neighbor as God requires. That standard forbids mingling human wisdom with the divine, confusing minds about right and holy methods in business, unjustly acquiring means at another’s expense, diverting means from the true object of foreign missions to invest them according to ambitious designs, and practicing any method to please the lust for gain and power on the principle that gain is godliness, and those who do such things prove they have not learned God’s holy law and must repent and be converted, do works worthy of the name Christian, and receive a cleansing and purging of the soul temple. Failure to walk in the light God gives was separating the people from God, with darkness coming upon them in the same proportion as light had shone on their pathway, requiring perfect obedience to God’s commandments and faithful improvement of God-given responsibility to exhibit character and works of an elevated order in harmony with accumulated light.
Its teaching stood opposed to the doctrines and practices of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees and exposed their misrepresentation of God. The same sermon revealed that failure to walk in the light given was separating the Jewish people from God.
The picture of the left hand not knowing what the right hand does is not a command to keep every kind act absolutely secret. It means display and human approval must not be the aim, and good works may be seen when they lead people to glorify God rather than the giver, whose grace and power make them possible. The Pharisees’ public display of charity sought attention and a reputation for holiness, but genuine godliness does not seek praise or flattery. The command rebukes showy almsgiving, not humble use of possessions to advance God’s cause or help others, and a person who gives nothing cannot use it as an excuse for doing little, for the issue is whether charity seeks human applause or bears the fruit of genuine faith. It describes giving so modestly that it is not worthy of self-congratulation, and it rebukes those who use secrecy as a pretext for giving very little or withholding charitable gifts.
The secrecy called for is so complete and private that the giver keeps the act from drawing attention even within personal awareness. Giving to those in need is to be done without seeking attention or recognition, acting freely without self-display or self-congratulation.
Religious leaders at the first coming broke this principle by giving alms and praying in the most public manner to appear pious, zealous, devoted and important, calling the attention of the people to themselves to be praised for devotion and piety. They gave alms to be seen of men and prayed in the marketplaces to give impressions of their importance and to make the people have exalted ideas of their religious devotion, while growing prouder and prouder and boasting of their righteousness and making religious profession very prominent. Their religion was only formal, consisting of ordinances and purifications, rites and ceremonies, without heartfelt piety, for they kept the forms and ceremonies while their hearts were not in the work, lacking personal piety and virtuous character, loving the honors of the world and seeking exaltation through riches. Behind that outward semblance of goodness they concealed greed and exploitation of the poor, grinding the faces of the poor and taking advantage of them in every way possible, especially the widow and fatherless. They devoured widows’ houses by heavy taxes and exacted money on various pretenses for the Lord’s treasury, appropriating the offerings of the people to themselves and thus robbing God.
Christ exemplified the saying by quiet, humble and disinterested works of mercy that did not exalt self and did not call attention to His goodness or seek public praise. He lived it by shunning human praise and preferring solitude and peaceful retirement to noise and confusion, then quietly resuming His work of mercy each morning.
Selfless Giving in Practice
Charity must spring from pity and love for those who suffer, done with a pure, wholehearted and humble motive for God's glory rather than to win praise, honor, notice, or a reputation for generosity and holiness. Magnifying one's own good deeds and bringing self to the front to attract attention and display them is contrary to this rule. Good works may still be seen when they lead people to glorify God, for the question is whether charity seeks human applause or bears the fruit of genuine faith. A pure motive sanctifies the act, and the highest religion gives benevolence without display, pleasing to God and expecting its reward from Him rather than from people.
God values genuine kindness and wholehearted devotion, judging charitable acts by their motives rather than their appearance before people. An act praised by people may be recorded as selfish or hypocritical, while what is done for Him rather than for human acclaim He rewards. Secret acts of kindness and self-sacrifice bless both recipient and giver, cultivating unselfish character, binding hearts together, drawing hearts toward God, noticed in heaven and recognized as union with Christ. Obedience includes not neglecting a worthy poor person close at hand, and those with means should favor the afflicted, widows and worthy poor in the prices they charge and the wages they pay.
The call to give in secret rebukes showy almsgiving, not the humble use of possessions to advance God's cause and help others. It does not justify neglecting the plain duty to give alms, and one who gives nothing cannot use it as an excuse for doing little. Its picture of giving so modestly as to be unworthy of self-congratulation does not excuse withholding charitable gifts, giving very little, concealing selfishness, or resisting systematic benevolence and support of God's work. The verse teaches contentment and life under the Holy Spirit's control, removing striving for place and position and reaching for honor and recognition. It so shapes ambition that a person no longer elbows a fellow worker aside to make room for personal plans, but honors Christ at every step and desires most to work just where God assigns, where He can look with approval, content with that place and willing to yield the will to the Spirit.
Every gift received comes from God, and when this is recognized with gratitude for His goodness, a heavenly atmosphere surrounds the soul. The verse holds lessons not yet fully learned, calling for ordering life by God's truth found in His word. Diligent study of the Scriptures as the truth of the living God is the foundation of faith and the assurance on which hope of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven is built. These lessons belong to the broader instruction on giving alms without seeking recognition or making a show of it.
In the Sermon on the Mount Christ taught that giving to the needy must not be done for display or human approval, and good deeds may be seen when they lead others to glorify God rather than the giver. The secrecy He calls for is so complete that the act draws no attention even in the giver's own mind, being done freely without self-display or self-congratulation. True charity springs from pity and love for sufferers with a pure, humble motive for God's glory rather than praise or reputation, for God judges gifts by their motives and rewards what is done for Him rather than for human acclaim. Such secret kindness and self-sacrifice bless both giver and receiver, build unselfish character, bind hearts together, and draw hearts toward God. This call to quiet giving never excuses covetousness, withholding, giving little, or neglecting the worthy poor nearby, but rebukes showy generosity while calling for humble, faithful use of means to help others and advance God's cause.
Words and Historical Setting
The saying belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, where the principles and conditions of God's kingdom are taught to correct false ideas of worldly greatness. It is part of that sermon’s revelation of the far-reaching, heart-level principles of God’s law, showing that the state of the heart regulates life and character and that the spirit of the law must be in the heart, so that new converts are rightly instructed in the claims of the law only when impressed with these inward principles. It belongs to the pure gospel given upon the Mount that explains God’s holy law and sets the holy standard of character, requiring love to God with the whole heart and love to neighbor as God requires. That standard forbids mingling human wisdom with the divine, confusing minds about right and holy methods in business, unjustly acquiring means at another’s expense, diverting means from the true object of foreign missions to invest them according to ambitious designs, and practicing any method to please the lust for gain and power on the principle that gain is godliness, and those who do such things prove they have not learned God’s holy law and must repent and be converted, do works worthy of the name Christian, and receive a cleansing and purging of the soul temple. Failure to walk in the light God gives was separating the people from God, with darkness coming upon them in the same proportion as light had shone on their pathway, requiring perfect obedience to God’s commandments and faithful improvement of God-given responsibility to exhibit character and works of an elevated order in harmony with accumulated light.
Its teaching stood opposed to the doctrines and practices of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees and exposed their misrepresentation of God. The same sermon revealed that failure to walk in the light given was separating the Jewish people from God.
The picture of the left hand not knowing what the right hand does is not a command to keep every kind act absolutely secret. It means display and human approval must not be the aim, and good works may be seen when they lead people to glorify God rather than the giver, whose grace and power make them possible. The Pharisees’ public display of charity sought attention and a reputation for holiness, but genuine godliness does not seek praise or flattery. The command rebukes showy almsgiving, not humble use of possessions to advance God’s cause or help others, and a person who gives nothing cannot use it as an excuse for doing little, for the issue is whether charity seeks human applause or bears the fruit of genuine faith. It describes giving so modestly that it is not worthy of self-congratulation, and it rebukes those who use secrecy as a pretext for giving very little or withholding charitable gifts.
The secrecy called for is so complete and private that the giver keeps the act from drawing attention even within personal awareness. Giving to those in need is to be done without seeking attention or recognition, acting freely without self-display or self-congratulation.
Religious leaders at the first coming broke this principle by giving alms and praying in the most public manner to appear pious, zealous, devoted and important, calling the attention of the people to themselves to be praised for devotion and piety. They gave alms to be seen of men and prayed in the marketplaces to give impressions of their importance and to make the people have exalted ideas of their religious devotion, while growing prouder and prouder and boasting of their righteousness and making religious profession very prominent. Their religion was only formal, consisting of ordinances and purifications, rites and ceremonies, without heartfelt piety, for they kept the forms and ceremonies while their hearts were not in the work, lacking personal piety and virtuous character, loving the honors of the world and seeking exaltation through riches. Behind that outward semblance of goodness they concealed greed and exploitation of the poor, grinding the faces of the poor and taking advantage of them in every way possible, especially the widow and fatherless. They devoured widows’ houses by heavy taxes and exacted money on various pretenses for the Lord’s treasury, appropriating the offerings of the people to themselves and thus robbing God.
Christ exemplified the saying by quiet, humble and disinterested works of mercy that did not exalt self and did not call attention to His goodness or seek public praise. He lived it by shunning human praise and preferring solitude and peaceful retirement to noise and confusion, then quietly resuming His work of mercy each morning.
Selfless Giving in Practice
Charity must spring from pity and love for those who suffer, done with a pure, wholehearted and humble motive for God's glory rather than to win praise, honor, notice, or a reputation for generosity and holiness. Magnifying one's own good deeds and bringing self to the front to attract attention and display them is contrary to this rule. Good works may still be seen when they lead people to glorify God, for the question is whether charity seeks human applause or bears the fruit of genuine faith. A pure motive sanctifies the act, and the highest religion gives benevolence without display, pleasing to God and expecting its reward from Him rather than from people.
God values genuine kindness and wholehearted devotion, judging charitable acts by their motives rather than their appearance before people. An act praised by people may be recorded as selfish or hypocritical, while what is done for Him rather than for human acclaim He rewards. Secret acts of kindness and self-sacrifice bless both recipient and giver, cultivating unselfish character, binding hearts together, drawing hearts toward God, noticed in heaven and recognized as union with Christ. Obedience includes not neglecting a worthy poor person close at hand, and those with means should favor the afflicted, widows and worthy poor in the prices they charge and the wages they pay.
The call to give in secret rebukes showy almsgiving, not the humble use of possessions to advance God's cause and help others. It does not justify neglecting the plain duty to give alms, and one who gives nothing cannot use it as an excuse for doing little. Its picture of giving so modestly as to be unworthy of self-congratulation does not excuse withholding charitable gifts, giving very little, concealing selfishness, or resisting systematic benevolence and support of God's work. The verse teaches contentment and life under the Holy Spirit's control, removing striving for place and position and reaching for honor and recognition. It so shapes ambition that a person no longer elbows a fellow worker aside to make room for personal plans, but honors Christ at every step and desires most to work just where God assigns, where He can look with approval, content with that place and willing to yield the will to the Spirit.
Every gift received comes from God, and when this is recognized with gratitude for His goodness, a heavenly atmosphere surrounds the soul. The verse holds lessons not yet fully learned, calling for ordering life by God's truth found in His word. Diligent study of the Scriptures as the truth of the living God is the foundation of faith and the assurance on which hope of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven is built. These lessons belong to the broader instruction on giving alms without seeking recognition or making a show of it.