The Secret Gift

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 

Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 

That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” Matthew 6:1-4

What is an alm? An alm is something given to the poor as charity, such as money, clothing or food.

In this passage, Jesus is teaching that when someone is going to give an alm, to do it in a secret manner. To give, not because you desire praise or thanks or admiration from others, but because you love the other person.

Sometimes I will see an article in a newspaper (maybe you have seen this yourself) with a picture showing someone from the community presenting a large sum of money to a charity, school, or other organization. They will pose for the camera for the whole community to see them giving this gift. That is not what is called a secret alm. How is a picture in a newspaper a secret?

All of the praise and thanks that they receive when others see that picture news article is their reward. 

And I have also heard of someone who gave a large amount of money to a business or organization, but they wished to remain anonymous. They did not want anyone to know who it was that had given that gift of money. That is giving something in secret. 

If something is done in secret it is not known or seen or not meant to known or seen by others. It is something kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged.

Years ago, we were somewhere studying the bible with a group of people and once the study concluded, we all left to go to our vehicles and go home. But we had forgot one of our bibles back in the building so we had to go and get it. As we picked it up, we noticed a small slip of paper sticking out of the middle of the bible. We opened up the bible to that page and inside was some money. Someone had placed it in our bible secretly, and left. We never knew who it was. That is an alm.

If we want to receive a reward from the Father for almsgivings that we do for others, we need to do it in a secret manner. Not waving money around, loudly announcing what you are doing. “Hey, everyone, look at what I am doing! Here, have some money!” 

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they were filled with this kind of attitude. They wanted to be seen by others as they wore their flowing robes and appeared to everyone that they were righteous and holy. They sought the praise from men, instead of seeking praise from God. As Jesus said, they have their reward. 

Christians don’t do that. This is because we want the glory to go to Jesus, not ourselves. If we give alms to others, it should be because we love others, and we want to show them the love of God that He has for them as well. And also know that when you give alms in secret, it says that God will reward you openly.

When someone rewards another person, it means that they “recompense or requite someone for service, merit, or acheivement.” 

It could be as simple as bringing over some food to a poor family in the church. If you give any sort of alm towards someone, just keep it a secret. Don’t announce it to the world. God will reward you.

In Christ,

Andrew