Jesus Called Us to Give Without Fanfare
Daily Scripture
Matthew 6:2-4
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
Jesus knew it feels good when people praise our generosity—whether through an award, a named building, or public recognition. But he also saw the spiritual danger when other people’s applause becomes our main motivation. Generosity should honor our generous God and bless others, not boost our reputation.
- In verse 2, Jesus described people who seemed to hire buglers to sound fanfares before they dropped large gifts into the Temple treasury! While few of us encounter literal trumpets today, have you witnessed giving done ostentatiously—seemingly designed to generate maximum applause? How did that display affect your own attitude toward generosity?
- This week, try an experiment: do something generous without telling anyone. Help a neighbor you’ve never talked to. Give an anonymous gift to someone in need. Then notice how hard it is to resist mentioning it to someone you’d like to impress. What do you learn about yourself when you do good without any human recognition?
Prayer
O God, when I give, teach me to put away my trumpet. Let your approval be all I need and all I seek. Amen.
GPS Insights
Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill, who serves as the Director of Operations at Resurrection's West location, wrote today’s Insights. She is a Navy mom and mom of three teen daughters, a wife of 24 years, and an avid fan of nachos.
I am a great admirer of 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.
As we enter this season of gift-giving, may we 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.
