Give to Help, not Impress
Daily Scripture
Matthew 6:1-4
1 “Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing 4 so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Does Jesus’ absurd image make you smile or wince? Did pompous donors actually hire buglers to sound fanfares as they put big gifts “for the poor” into Temple or synagogue offering boxes? Probably not—as one scholar noted, “Givers did not literally use trumpets to announce their gifts; this image is graphic hyperbole.” * But Jesus’ point was clear: you can do a good thing for the wrong reasons. God can always see your true motivation, whether other people can or not.
- Giving generously to help others is good and essential to Christian discipleship. ** What Jesus warned against was giving to impress others—because then any admiration you receive is all the reward you’ll get. Jesus called for inner honesty throughout the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:22, 28, 34, 44). Have you ever done something genuinely good but found the wrong thing quietly going on inside you at the same time? What helps you give with pure motives?
- You’ve never seen anyone hire a bugler to announce their gift. But you’ve probably seen plaques, named buildings, or donor walls recognizing large gifts—even in churches. Jesus taught that God rewards secret giving. How can your church and its ministries balance the practical need to thank donors publicly (which can inspire others and build relationships) with Jesus’ teaching about secret giving? Is there a way to do both faithfully? ***
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to learn from your model of self-giving generosity. Teach me how to do my giving, not for my ego’s sake, but for the sake of those who need what I am able to give. Amen.
GPS Insights
Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill, who serves as the Director of Operations at Resurrection's West location, first wrote today’s Insights in 2025. She is a Navy mom and mom of three teen daughters, a wife of 24 years, and an avid fan of nachos.
I greatly admire Gary Chapman’s work on the Five Love Languages, particularly since my own language is Words of Affirmation. Phrases like “thank you” and “that’s amazing” truly fill my bucket, especially when they come from those closest to me. Reading today’s passage, however, forced me to confront a question about my motivations for serving and giving back: Am I truly driven by the high five?
This contemplation brought me back to a difficult time during the COVID shutdowns when my family, like many, struggled financially. I mentioned our situation a time or two in prayer requests, primarily hoping for prayers. I was completely surprised, then, to walk into my office one day and find an envelope sitting on my desk filled with gift cards.
As I sat there looking at them, realizing they would allow me to buy groceries and necessities for my family, I broke down in tears, overwhelmed by the blessing. After drying my eyes, I desperately looked for a note—eager to know who to thank—but found nothing. The gift was completely anonymous.
The inner sleuth in me tried to reason out the identity of the generous person, but as my detective work came up empty, I began to realize that not knowing was a gift in itself. This blessing likely came from someone I knew who had heard of our hardship and wanted to help. Knowing their identity might have made future engagements awkward or created a feeling of embarrassment or a need to reciprocate. I’m certain the giver never intended for me to feel that pressure. Ultimately, the anonymity was just as significant a gift as the gift cards themselves.
Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to pay that blessing forward in the same manner, and I’ve never once wished I had signed a card.
So, while I still love hearing my kids say, “Thanks, Mom, for getting that,” I’ve learned that when I am meeting a financial need or performing an act of service, I don’t need those words to feel fulfilled. Simply knowing that what I have given will be a genuine blessing to someone else is all the reward I need.
May we always find our buckets filled by the simple act of giving, not the high fives we receive. Our hearts will be warmer, and our hands less chapped.
© 2026 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Craig Keener, comment on Matthew 6:2 in NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 8807). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** See Hamilton, Adam, The Walk. Abingdon Press, 2019, Kindle Edition, chapter 4.
*** Jesus said, “Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.” This wasn’t transactional—give secretly, get heavenly payment. The “reward” is the joy of genuine generosity, freedom from needing others’ approval, and the deep satisfaction of pleasing God alone.
