Matthew 6: Giving in Secret to a Generous God

Introduction

"The classic British reaction is to feel a bit uncomfortable: oh no, we're going to talk about money." Darren Wolf, senior pastor of Christ Church Spitalfields in London, takes the subject head on. What Jesus wants, he says, is for you to know freedom with your money, your wealth and your possessions, and for him to break the dysfunctional relationships we have with our stuff.

Today's text is Matthew 6:1-4: "But when you do merciful deeds, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." Yet the pastor does not start with our money. He starts with God: "We worship a generous God, and that is where we begin."

The message follows a simple path: God's generosity, how Jesus talks about giving, three practical habits, and then what holds back our generosity: we forget the reward.

Outline of the message

1. We worship a generous God

Everything in the universe comes from God, and it is all placed at our disposal. God created a world that is "fully stocked", not "half empty like my fridge".
This world holds everything human beings need to flourish: food, water, building materials, precious stones, gold, the means to farm the land, to create, to trade. Not just the bare minimum: more than we need.
This generosity is for everyone. Jesus says so in the Sermon on the Mount: the Father "makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).
When we had separated ourselves from him, God came back to us even more generously: he sent his Son.
Jesus is generous like his Father. His disciples wanted to send the crowd away, but he fed five thousand men, besides women and children, until everyone was satisfied, and twelve baskets were left over. "Now that is generous."
"Love is his nature and generosity is his character, and God will keep on giving, whatever it costs him."

2. A generosity that cost the Father

Paul writes to the Corinthians: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Jesus came from heaven to earth and died on a Roman cross so that you could be brought back into God's family. "That is generosity at its maximum."
If you want to follow God, you are one of his children. And children resemble their Father: they reflect his character and become generous without making distinctions.
We already know a little of what generosity is. Jesus says: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" (Matthew 7:11).
The question becomes: how do we move from a little generosity to a whole generous life? We learn it from the one who lived it perfectly. That is the whole meaning of being an apprentice of Jesus: sitting at the feet of the master.

3. "When you give": Jesus assumes a giving church

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks about our relationship with money not once or twice, but six times.
He says "when you give", not "if you give". "There is no version of the church that Jesus presents to us in which giving is not the normal thing." A disciple who does not give is not a category Jesus considers.
The word used for giving comes from the Greek word that means mercy. It is a gift of compassion, like that of the Father and the Son, and not a process in which we go looking for people we judge to be in need.
This giving was communal: the weekly collection at the synagogue or the temple, and the daily distribution of food to those who lacked. "This is not independent private charity. It is the economy of God's household, and it is an economy of generosity."

4. The widow and her two small coins

Mark 12: Jesus, sitting opposite the treasury, watches people give. Many rich people put in a lot. A poor widow puts in two small coins. Jesus says she gave more than all the others, because "out of her poverty, [she] put in all that she had to live on".
"You may be here and you may be rich. You may be here and you may feel poor." The text speaks to both.
Who is she giving to? To the temple, which Jesus considers corrupt; he has a very low opinion of its leaders. Yet he does not say she should have kept her money or given it elsewhere. He says she did well.
"Your giving is not a satisfaction rating awarded to a better or worse church. Your giving is first of all an act of worship toward God."
This widow is part of God's giving household: she probably knows there will be a food distribution the next day. In the church too, it is about giving, helping and being helped. The pastor invites anyone who needs a hand with their finances to talk to him, to their group leader or to a church leader.

5. Three habits: a priority, a percentage, a plan

A priority. The Macedonians "first gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God" (2 Corinthians 8:5). Giving is first an offering of ourselves. Darren Wolf gives at the start of the month by standing order: otherwise there would always be something to buy first. "Don't buy first and then give with what's left. Give first."
A percentage. "For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he doesn't have" (2 Corinthians 8:12), and in the early church, each gave according to his ability (Acts 11:29). The number matters less than the heart, which will show up in the numbers. In God's household, we don't ask "what is the minimum?" but "how generous can I be?".
10% is a good marker, mentioned throughout the Bible and endorsed by Jesus. If that is too much for you, start with much less, for example 10 pounds a month, "I don't know if that's even two coffees". When he started following Jesus, the pastor gave 3% of his income. Today he gives more than 10%, not to be congratulated, but to say: "I am inside this house of generosity, not outside it."
A plan. "On the first day of every week, let each one of you save, as he may prosper" (1 Corinthians 16:2). Giving is regular, decided in advance, tied to Sunday and to worship.
"Let each person give as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). Planned giving and joyful giving are allies: you decide calmly in advance, so that you can then give freely and with joy.

6. What holds back generosity: forgetting the reward

The pastor asks himself the question: "Why am I not more generous?" His answer: he loses sight of the reward, which Jesus talks about relentlessly in the Sermon on the Mount.
"Your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:4). If we grasped the scale of this reward, we would consider ourselves rich and resist generosity less.
Is that self-serving? Giving 100 pounds to God to receive 200? "No, absolutely not." C.S. Lewis explains it: we call a man mercenary if he marries a woman for her money, but marriage is the proper reward of a true lover, and it is not mercenary to desire it.
"The reward is not an added bonus, it is the thing itself." The reward is God in his fullness: the intimate presence of the Father, Jesus giving himself to you and for you, the Holy Spirit poured out on you, God's "well done", the joy of being seen and known by him.

7. Who are you giving for?

"Every gift has an audience." Jesus distinguishes three: other people, yourself or your Father.
The hypocrites made giving a performance. This is not just a bad image, it is misdirected worship: they worship the opinion of others.
"Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing": be careful not to congratulate yourself on your giving.
Back to the widow: who sees her? Jesus. He points her out to his disciples and celebrates what she did. She probably went home without knowing anyone had noticed her, and today her gesture is celebrated around the world.
It is the same for you: most of the time, you will not see what your giving produces. But your Father sees, and he turns that hidden gift into a renewal of East London for the gospel: guests at the Alpha course, young families leaving with a Bible.
"The church is not a religious association you support so that it does good things. You are part of a household of generous brothers and sisters, and we give because we have a generous Father."

Key takeaways

Before you talk about your money, look at God: he gave everything, even his Son, and his children resemble him.
Jesus says "when you give": a disciple's life without giving is not an option he considers.
Your giving is first of all an act of worship toward God, not a rating given to a church.
Give as a priority, by a percentage, with a plan decided in advance, so that you give freely and with joy.
The Father's reward is God himself. He sees in secret what no one else notices.

Personal application

What is your relationship with your money and possessions: freedom, worry, embarrassment, attachment?
In your budget, does giving come first, or with what is left at the end of the month?
Do you ask yourself "what is the minimum?" or "how generous can I be?". What amount or percentage is God putting on your heart?
Who are you really giving for: other people's eyes, your own good feelings, or your Father who sees in secret?
If you do not yet give, what first step, even a modest one, can you take this week?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

What does Jesus mean by "do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"?

According to Darren Wolf, Jesus warns against two wrong audiences for our giving. The first is other people: the hypocrites turn their giving into a show and worship the opinion of the crowd. The second is ourselves: congratulating ourselves on our own generosity. The only true audience for giving is the Father who sees in secret.

Is giving in order to be rewarded by God selfish?

No. Darren Wolf rejects the idea that we give 100 pounds to God to receive 200. With C.S. Lewis, he explains that marriage is the proper reward of a true lover, and that this does not make the lover mercenary. The Father's reward is not an added bonus: it is God himself, his presence, his Spirit, his "well done".

How can I build the habit of giving, according to Darren Wolf?

He offers three markers drawn from Paul's letters: make giving a priority (give first, before you spend), give a percentage (according to what you have, with 10% as a good marker) and give with a plan (decided in advance, regular, so that you can then give freely and with joy).