Blow your horn?

The other day I went quail hunting with a buddy. Afterwards we went into town to eat breakfast. We all bowed our heads and asked the blessing before we ate.

Is this a good thing?

Hmmm. On the surface the Bible seems to send mixed signals about it. In Matthew 6:2 we are told, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they be seen by men. Assuredly I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father, who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Like so many things in the Bible if this passage were taken out of context and interpreted on its own merits, it would indicate that all praying should be done in secret. However we know that not to be the case because we know that we are to emulate Jesus Christ who came to this world as our model and Jesus always offered thanks in public prior to eating.

In reality this text is warning us not to fall to the temptation of using public acts to glorify ourselves rather than our Father. Jesus admonished the Pharisees for sounding a trumpet when they gave. This was what the Pharisees would do prior to giving money to the poor. They would actually get someone to sound a trumpet and when people gathered around and everyone was watching the show, they would give the poor a coin or two and everyone would know what a great guy that Pharisee was.

I’m sure that not all Pharisees did this for “men glory”, surely some did it for “God glory” and because they had compassion for the poor. When the poor heard the trumpet, they would scurry towards it hoping to get a coin in order to eat. The sounding of the trumpet was a good practical tool to call them together to receive a gift. So using the trumpet could be a good thing or a bad thing dependent upon the heart of the Pharisee that was using it.

We should be careful this Christmas season when giving to the poor and doing various charitable deeds that we do not sound the trumpet for “men glory” instead of “God glory”. Christmas should be about giving and not just to those who are near and dear, but to those who suffer. Give generously, but give because it is the right thing to do and not because you want your friends and acquaintances to think you are one swell guy or gal.

This is not to say that there is never a time to tell others about our giving. If we tell someone what we have done so with the motive of teaching them to be generous too and they can vicariously learn about the joys of giving through our example, then good on us.

I suppose we should ask ourselves earnestly if we are merely trying to encourage others to follow our lead and they can learn to be a giver through our example, or are we trying to impress them. It all boils down to what is in our hearts. We know in our hearts and souls whether or not we are putting on a show, or trying to glorify God. We should keep in mind that God is watching everything that we do and waiting to reward us.

As for me, I prefer His rewards over anyone thinking I am some pious holy Joe good guy No one would believe it anyway…

Matt. 6:3
“But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”