Why do you do it?

This blog entry could have so many titles:  “Beware of strangers bearing gifts!”  or “DO NOT do your acts of righteousness before men” would be good ones, too.  The truth is, this is another time when the truth of God’s word has shown itself in real life.  Anyone who says the Bible is outdated and unreal refuses to see its truths unfold before them, as it does every day!!!

In Matthew 6, Jesus shared  these words with His disciples:

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV)

When we do good deeds, especially those that benefit our community, we who follow Christ should always do them to glorify our Father.  NEVER to glorify ourselves!  If we do these things to glorify ourselves, we are reaping our reward right now. If I am a follower of Christ, and yet decide to sing my own praises, am I not stealing some of His glory for myself??  ABSOLUTELY!

So, do all of the good deeds He leads you to do!!  And check your motives as you do them!  And give Him all of the glory!!!  The truth of the matter is, the BEST good deeds I’ve ever been a part of have been things done in secret.  Things that were set up perfectly by God and executed because He said to do it!!  Things done with no public accolade sought and no press coverage!!  Things that were AWESOME because, in the end, the ONLY explanation was GOD!!