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.

Matthew 6:3-4 CSB

This verse is part of a conversation that starts in v1 where Jesus is letting us know about how we work out our religious practices, and then he uses the practice of giving to those in need as an example. 

The Bible his listeners read is the Old Testament, and it's clear about helping those in need, and Jesus isn't concerned about their giving, but the heart behind it. 

The heart that says "I have to give so what can I get from that? At least I'll get some social brownie points if others know what I'm doing, then I get something from following what God says".

Or something like that. 

Jesus is all about our heart motivation and uses this neat mechanism of giving and not letting our left hand know what our right hand is giving. 

Impossible to do, to not know. 

Jesus is asking us to stretch towards the impossible to do what is right because it's part of God's plan for our thriving as a community. 

It's what God has asked us to do and doing that from love not obligation is what he is about. 

And if I give (time, money, resources, support) without even me knowing, then no one else will either, and that honours the receiver. 

The person who needs the help of the community (and we all do sometime) is worthy of care, and this is how we love others well.

#wordsofJesus

#redletterBible

#lovepeople

#itsaheartthing