i've been trying to figure out, most of my life, what it means 'do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing' - and why does He tell me to give this way?
Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Joh 12:43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
In other words do not give glory to yourself wanting people to think you are a great man of God by a public display of giving, praying, and fasting, to get the attention of people to boast of yourself, so they will look up to you as something special, for all glory goes to God.
If we boast of our self living for God, and give glory to our self, and want people to view us as something special, then we have our reward, which is the reward of whatever we can get from this world, which the world is motivated by self exaltation, and wanting attention, and if a saint gives glory to themselves then they fall victim to the attitude of the world.
For the world suffers from what I call cribitis, or the baby crib syndrome, for even though they left the baby crib they carry that attitude with them throughout their life, wah, notice me, give me attention, and because of that they go through their life trying to seek attention, and wanting to exalt themselves.
The only ones that escape it are people that follow Jesus led by the Spirit.
So do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that you do not even give glory to yourself, and think you are something special, for giving even when no one is observing, and surely not when people are watching you.
The Bible says if you think you are something, when you are nothing, you deceive yourself, and we can do nothing without Christ, so we cannot glory of our self.
