Matthew 6:1–4 (NIV)

1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

I have a secret from my wife. It is something I always do and she has absolutely no idea. Well, maybe she does… but I have never told her about it and she has never mentioned it so I will assume the secret is still safe. It is something I have done since we were dating, and it is something that is done weekly, sometimes daily. I can’t confess what it is here; she is probably going to read this, and I would be found out. There are others who know about the secret. In fact I have a habit of confessing it regularly under a very specific circumstance – in the groom's waiting room immediately before a wedding ceremony. I gather all the groom’s men together and we pray for the marriage. I then ask the married men in the room to share advice for the husband to be. My advice for what to do for every man to be the best husband they can be and to love their bride well is the substance of the secret I keep from my bride. She and I are one, and I can’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing.

Your Turn:

This week is all about being generous with others without being able to take any credit for it. We will practice disinterested love, choosing to love others without any strings attached, and with no thought of return. In order to do this, every act of generosity will be anonymous. 

• When you go to the coffee shop, put your tip in the jar when they turn their back and don’t see you do it. 

• Send a gift to someone without putting your name or return address on it. Make sure it is the type of gift that they wouldn’t know that it came from you. 

• Make a donation to your church or some other non-profit organization anonymously.  

• Help the needy this week: Buy a meal for a beggar (don’t just give money), buy a gift card for a family who is struggling to make ends meet, offer to help an elderly neighbor with their lawn maintenance, etc.