Matthew 6:2 - - this verse is often misunderstood. A lot of people think this verse means that you can never do something and then let anybody know about it, but it doesn’t really mean that in its context. It does give a caution about letting people know what you’ve done. Jesus says:

In other words, a lot of people do their giving with a lot of fanfare and a lot of excitement with the goal to be honored by others. He says:

“I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”

If that’s what they were going for, then that’s what they got. In other words, there was no eternal value in that.

“When you do give to the needy do not let your left hand know what the right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret, then your Father who sees things that are done in secret will reward you.”

In other words, our giving is to be motivated by pleasing God as opposed to pleasing others. We are to be responsive to how God is leading us and prompting us, and we’re to respond appropriately to the Lord. Some people say that because of this verse nobody can ever know what any giving is, but that isn’t a biblical concept. With Moses there were a lot of people that giving was publicly declared, with Nehemiah the giving was declared, and with David the giving was declared. The Bible does not mean that you can never know what giving was done, but it’s this whole idea of, “Where are your motives? Who are you doing this for?” Look in this particular verse. If you look at the context of the verse, if you try to stick with that theology that nobody could ever know, then you could never pray publicly because in these same verses it says, “When you pray, pray in secret so that your Heavenly Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly.” The idea there is that if you couldn’t tell anybody, we would never be able to have a public prayer. We have people pray for church services, it’s regular to have people stand up and pray for one another, and so the Bible does not say that you’re never to pray in a way that’s public, we pray in public and pray for people all the time. In the same way, there’s a place where giving can be made known and it can be a source of inspiration to others. In the Old Testament David very clearly said, “This is what I’m going to be giving.” He identified it and it was used to inspire others. Paul talked about the Macedonian Christians and how much they gave, “They even gave beyond their ability when they first gave themselves to the Lord.” And he used that as an inspiration to others that they might become more generous. Where Jesus condemns giving is when it was only done for show; it is not done to please God, it’s only done for public recognition and nothing else. Jesus cautions you, “Watch your heart with your giving, and be careful with your giving.” Ultimately it’s to please the Lord, but there are times that your telling a story about being generous can be a source of inspiration to others.