¹“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, 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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. – Matthew 6:1-4

God is very specific in many instructions. Here, Jesus states “when you give to the needy” ….  He is not simply saying to do it, He is implying that this is something we already know to do in our own heart. He doesn’t have to remind us to do it, but simply guides and directs us how to do it: in secret. Don’t make a big stink about it and go bragging to your friends or co-workers – as Nike says “Just do it!”

W.A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he’d promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now. The pastor replied, “I don’t see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you’d have no problem tithing $4.00.”   W. A. Criswell, A Guidebook for Pastors, p. 156.