ALMSGIVING
“When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in thesynagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. But 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 shall recompense thee.”
Our Lord is clearly using a metaphor. We cannot suppose that the Jews, when they went to give alms, caused their own trumpet to be blown in a literal sense; and in the same way, when our Lord speaks of the left hand not knowing what the right hand doeth, it is clearly a metaphor; but a metaphor vividly descriptive. For what our Lord is here forbidding is obviously ostentation in doing good.
Here is a matter upon which it is for each man to examine himself. We are to find out what our motive is. We are not to be troubled because, when we are trying to do good, there comes across us the temptation to think that people are looking at us. We shall often be tempted in this way: but the point is, what is our motive? We can find that out. When people are not looking at us, do we stop doing the good action? When we cannot be seen, do we omit it? If not, let us not be worried because wemay be tempted with thoughts of vainglory. You know what an old saint said to Satan: “Not for thy sake did I begin this; and not for thy sake shall I leave it off.” But on the other hand, if you give a half-crown in a collection when there is a plate, and a penny when there is a bag and your gift cannot be seen; or if you put yourself down for a larger sum in a subscription list in order to be brought into association with a duchess, then you have the gravest possible reason to doubt your motive.
And let me add this: there are many charitable people who desire to collect money for good objects; let them take care that in order to do so they do not encourage people in bad motives. If they play upon bad motives to get money, assuredly they are partakers of other men’s sins: and the money is not to the glory of God or for the good of His work.