Andy Belknapp
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches many things that were challenging to His immediate audience, and are still challenging to us today. One of these challenging topics revolves around the publicity of our good deeds. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus tells His disciples that they are the light of the world, and He instructs them to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Later on in this sermon, however, He goes on to say, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them…Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you…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…” (Matthew 6:1-4).
So, which is it? Should we let our light shine and do good works in the sight of others, or should we do them in secret? Perhaps you have internally struggled with questions like this before. For instance, if you do a good deed, should you go out of your way to make sure no one knows you did that good deed, or not worry about whether someone sees it or not? If someone asks what you did earlier in the day, should you include the fact that you delivered some homemade soup to a shut-in, or should you leave that out? When you make a donation to a charitable cause, should you make every effort to make sure the donation is “anonymous,” or not worry if your name is visible for all to see?
When considering the answer to questions such as these, we simply need to examine Jesus’ words in this sermon. Jesus declares to His audience to not practice their righteousness before other people “in order to be seen by them.” Additionally, when Jesus says, “…sound no trumpet before you,” He is warning against broadcasting your own good works so that others will be more likely to take notice of them. It is not a matter of whether or not our good works are seen by others that is of concern, it is the desire to be seen by others that Jesus is concerned with. It is about our intentions and mindset. Are we letting our light shine in order to “give glory to [our] Father who is in heaven” or is it to the glory of ourselves?
Another interesting thing Jesus says here is, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Not only should we combat pride by not boasting about our good deeds to others, but perhaps also by not announcing it to ourselves or dwelling on them for too long. Chrysostom, a fourth-century author, once wrote, “You may do good deeds before men, and yet seek not human praise; you may do them in secret, and yet in your heart wish that they may become known to gain that praise.” Even if we do not perform our good works in the presence of others, if our hearts are not in the right place, we can be equally as guilty as the hypocrite standing in the synagogues and street corners praying aloud for all to hear.
We find a great illustration of doing good works with the wrong heart in Acts 4:32-5:11. Here, we learn that many of the early saints in Jerusalem were selling their possessions to give to their brothers and sisters in need. While Barnabas is highlighted as someone who sold a field and laid all of its proceeds at the feet of the apostles, Ananias and Sapphira are highlighted as a couple who pretended to give all of the proceeds of their sold property, but had in fact kept some of it back for themselves. This deed, which was noble and good, was apparently done with a scheme to glorify themselves. Their hearts were not in the right place, and even though this scheme was unlikely to come to light among the church, God knew their intent, and it cost them their lives.
Lastly, we must remember that the only heart we can investigate is our own. What Jesus teaches in this sermon should predominantly be meant for the discernment of our own intentions of our own deeds. Perhaps there are times when it is obvious that some people are doing things in order to be seen by others, such as when Jesus talks about the hypocrites in Matthew 6:2-8, and those individuals should be addressed when it is obvious. However, when we witness the good deeds of others and it appears their actions may have been done in order to give glory to themselves, we must be cautious. Perhaps that is the case, and perhaps it is not. If the goal in their hearts is the praise of men, then so be it. God says they have their reward, but we must let God be the judge of that (c.f. Matthew 6:2-4). Instead, we should primarily be examining our own hearts, which have a tendency to be deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9-10).
