“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:3
I thought I new my father well. After his death stories began coming to us in cards and letters, often in person, of things he had done that even my mother knew nothing about.
His generosity was described well by a dear friend of many years, when he wrote a story which none of us had ever heard, in spite of the closeness of our families. They told us about a time over thirty years before, when the wife had all of her Christmas money, an amount equal to her husband’s weekly paycheck, stolen. She told my mother of the problem. There would now be no Christmas for their sons.
As they discussed what to do about their problem, the door bell rang. There stood my father, his trademark smile lighting up his face, a check in his hand. The amount of the check was equal to what they had lost. He ignored their protests, saying he wanted their boys to have a good Christmas.
My mother was the most surprised by the story. She said at that point in time they had little money to spare and she knows my father never told her what he had done.
Often we hear of someone’s loss and have it within our means to remedy the situation, and do nothing. We hate to put ourselves in financial peril, so we say we’re sorry and go our way. That was not my father’s way. If he was capable of helping someone he did it, and almost seventeen years later, we still hear the stories.
Our good deeds are to be done in such a way that no one knows except for God and recipient. If we want worldly accolades, then that will be our only reward. God’s desire is for us to do as He prompts, trust Him for our needs, and do what we can to supply the needs of others, saying nothing to anyone.
Perhaps you know of someone in need now. Too often we are willing to give at Christmastime, but don’t show the same love and charity the rest of the year.
Ask God to show you how He might use you to fulfill someone’s need. Then do it right away, and without making a public display of your act. Trust God to reward you in the way He sees fit. He never fails.
© Copyright 2012 by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman. All Rights Reserved.
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