His Glory, Our Good
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-4 NLT
Insight
As Christ-followers, we are called to live our lives in service of others. Jesus dares us to deny ourselves and freely give our time, energy, and resources to uplift those He loves. Disciples of Jesus are made to carry the transformative love of God into spaces where others find themselves hopeless, suffering, and broken-hearted. Life is best lived when everything we do is leveraged for His glory and the good of those around us. Though, because we are human, we are often motivated to “do good” for the express purpose of bringing ourselves glory and acclaim.
We live in a culture where charity is often a means to an end. The good we do serves to bolster our reputation and ease our guilty conscience. The evidence for this is everywhere. Those who shell out large sums of money for the public good get libraries and hospitals named after them. The donations we make are often tax-deductible. The hours we spend volunteering are dutifully logged on our resumes. The pictures we take at charity events make for excellent Facebook posts. We want others to see our good deeds because we want others to believe we are selfless, kind, righteous people.
During His earthly ministry, Christ didn’t do good to gain the approval of others. Jesus regularly healed the sick and hurting, only to instruct them to not tell a soul what He did for them (Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 3:10-12). Many times, He fasted and prayed in private, rather than making a show of His perfect faith (Matthew 13:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 22:40-42). Christ was actively persecuted for performing miracles and carrying the grace of God to all He encountered (Luke 6:6-9, Matthew 9:10-11). Of course, Christ did good works in public that made God’s love visible. Of course, many saw the amazing works He did and responded by praising Him. However, His intention and motivation for doing these things was to benefit us, not to make Himself great (John 16:33). The Son of God came first and foremost to serve us and give His life for our ransom (Matthew 20:28), not earn recognition or applause.
God never gets proper worship for the things He does for us, yet He continues to do them anyway because He cares for us. He deserves so much more credit than He gets. Every second, He is moving oxygen through our lungs and blood through our veins. He is constantly sustaining us and serving us behind the scenes. Not only is He always tending to our needs, but He is perpetually giving His love away to 7.8 billion other people. He is nurturing every living thing, all at once. If the good that God did was proportional to the praise He received, the world would cease to function.
We are called to live by God’s example, doing things for the sake of love and love alone.
We may get appreciation for the good things that we do. In and of itself, this is not a bad thing! What matters is our motivation for serving and loving those around us (1 Samuel 16:7). When we serve others to gain a good reputation, we aren’t serving others at all—we are serving ourselves. It is difficult to root out our selfish motivations for being “selfless.” However, over time, God can purify our motives. The more we practice doing good works in secret, the more content we will become with gaining nothing but God’s approval. We are called to live for an audience of One (Galatians 1:10)!
Reflection
How can you serve someone today without expecting recognition? What is something loving you can do without telling anyone?
Are you motivated to “do good” when only God is watching?
Prayer
Father God, thank you for constantly serving and loving me without getting the praise You deserve. Help me to follow Your example and give myself away for the good of those around me, without expecting recognition or applause. Let me persist in doing good, even if I get persecuted for doing the right thing. Purify my heart so that I can be charitable for others’ sake and for Your glory. Humble me and move me to confess when I am motivated to love others so that they might think of me as a “good person.” Help me to challenge myself and intentionally do good things for others in secret. Amen.
Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.