One of my favorite passages of Scripture is taken from Jesus'
Sermon on the Mount. In the first half of chapter 6 from the
gospel recorded by Matthew, one phrase is stated three times,
“..and thy Father which seeth in secret (himself) shall reward thee
openly.” (The word, “himself” is only used in the instance of verse
4. kjv)
Looking in verses 1 through 4 we find, “Take heed that ye do
not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no
reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou
doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypo-
crites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have
glory of men. Verily, I say unto you, They have their reward. But
thou when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right
hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which
seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.”
Apparently, some men who came to the synagogue at the time this
was spoken were given to grand public displays before the people
to draw attention to their offering. Although the motive for giving to
the Lord is not performed for reward, but out of obedience, there is a
reward to the believer who gives. Hypocrites of early times, as well
as today, lose any reward from the Lord when the gift is not in secret.
This goes to motive and reflects on the lack of pure worship on the
part of the giver. Our Lord looks on the heart, not on outward action.
He is, however; cognizant of our outward actions, which are critical.
As we continue in this same passage, the next reference is to
prayer. There is a statement about the way hypocrites perform wor-
ship. “..they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the cor-
ners of the streets, "that they may be seen of men". Verily I say
unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy
Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
reward thee openly.” At this point there is also further instruction on
prayer, and a warning against the use of “ vain repetition.” Verses
8 through 13 give example of how to pray.) The principle is clear as
is the reference to the giving of alms. There are some who believe
prayer should always be made in private and do not pray in public.
With that in mind; if you pray publicly, make sure the prayer is to
the Father without cognizance of those around. ( I am not sure this
is possible.) The text does say, "When you pray..." and may mean
we do not pray in public. I have had issue with this and just make a
suggestion that we always pray to the Father, in the name of the Son
without taking into of those who might hear.
Effectual, fervent prayer should always be in private, since this
keeps us from falling in the same pitfall as hypocrites. We should
never pressure anyone to pray in public if they are the least bit
reticent, for this is a valid point considering the wording of this pa-
ssage in Scripture.)
Finally in this same chapter, verses 16 through 18, there is instruc-
tion on fasting. The principle is the same in earlier references. One
thing occurred to me several years ago on my first occasion to discuss
this passage with teens. The three forms of worship, having the com-
mon principle, have more in common than this. When you look at the
last, you find persons who fast, deny self, will have that he did not
consume to give to the poor in the manner prescribed. He is blessed
openly, and has more. For, as he gives in obedience, he is blessed
of the Lord. He then gives thanks to the Lord for that, in prayer, in
secret, and rewarded again. All my life I have heard the phrase time
and again, “You can’t out give the Lord.” I believe we can take this
this Scripture and teach that principle. It is a cycle of blessing avail-
able to each of us as we learn principles of Scripture, put them to the
test as in Malachi 3:10 and watch the Lord work. "Bring ye all the
tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and
prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you
the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall
not be room enough to receive it." Is Scripture showing us that chil-
dren of God can/must qualify for the blessings of the Lord? I find no
place in God's Word indicating otherwise. I also believe Matthew
Chapter 6 teaches the motive in the giving of alms, prayer and fasting
have a great deal to do with the resultant blessing.
(You might choose to read verses 8 thru 11 of Malachi 3 for details.)
I have chosen to take this part of the Bible and it's principles literally.
There may be those who read this who believe blessings of the Lord
are Spiritual, not material. If that is true, it makes the passage no less
worthy of our consideration, since the Spiritual is eternal and material
blessing is temporary having to do only with this life. However you
apply this is not really vital since it works either way. Another sugges-
tion brought to my attention is the fact that these are not promises,
but principles. If we are foolish enough to give something for the pur-
pose of being blessed, that must be the poorest in choices available to
us. Be a person who lives with hands open to those who have need
and see our Lord work.
donporter May 22, 2013
