Last week we spoke about the idea of doing righteousness, and that it means we work in order to produce, God blesses us, and we in turn use those blessings to help people in need. Throughout the Bible people were instructed to give to the needy, and to do it generously and with a joyful heart. There also is the promise of a reward for helping others out.
Jesus told his hearers that they should not practice their righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them. When we give to the needy we shouldn’t announce it, but rather should do it quietly and in secret: “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. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:3, 4 ESV).
This is not a new concept for Jesus. In Malachi 3:10, God says, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” God rewards us, not for our own pleasure, but for the benefit of helping even more people.