WHEN THOU DOEST THINE ALMS, DO NOT…

Religion is synonymous with almsgiving in many people’s eyes. They regard charitable deeds as essential in the quest to earn favour in the sight of God. To them life is a meritocracy, where salvation is the reward for religious observance. The ancient Pharisees heartily agreed with these sentiments. They were sure that their well-publicized good deeds would secure for them a righteous standing before God, as well as solidifying their reli­gious reputations in the minds of their contemporaries.

Certainly the Lord approves of acts of mercy, but such kindnesses are of no avail in earning salvation. The Scriptures are clear that a righteous standing before God comes by means of a gift and not according to one’s personal merit, Eph. 2. 8-9; Rom. 4. 3-6; Gal. 2. 21. Those who are saved should emulate the example of Tabitha, who performed many charitable deeds on behalf of the poor, Acts 9. 36. Nonetheless, such acts of mercy are the evidence that the practitioners’ hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. They are not the means by which people are saved.

Christ commands His disciples to do their alms in secret. When they follow His directive they leave room for the credit to go to their Father in heaven. The Lord deserves the praise for any acts of mercy that are performed, for He is the One who has turned His children’s hearts from self-centredness to love of their fellowmen. Too often almsgivers are hypocrites - a word that comes from the Greek stage to refer to one who performs for the applause of others. God is interested in real charity, rather than a performance aimed at bolstering the pride and reputa­tions of men. Christ urges His followers not to ‘sound a trumpet’, v. 2, to announce their good conduct. In other words, they are not to draw attention to their righteous works. Instead, they are to do acts of kindness as unto the Father, caring only for His enjoyment of these charitable deeds. The Lord sees what they do in secret and will reward them openly when He triumphantly returns for them; cf. Isa. 40. 10. The righteous deeds of the saints are meant to shine for God’s glory and will one day form part of the heavenly bride’s wedding garment, Rev. 19. 8.