Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
MATTHEW 6:1-4 | Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Generosity is truly faithful when it proceeds from the right motivations. When we are grateful for blessings and give in response, it is an act of faith in God who provides for us. When we long to see the poor helped and the fallen lifted and so we invest in ministries to help, we act faithfully, joining God’s work in God’s world. When our gifts are given freely, without compulsion and with love, then we act faithfully.
If we give to impress others, however, or to garner attention, what looks outwardly like generosity is actually an act of egoism.
Pray for motivations that line up with your faith.
