Our last article looked at Ananias and Sapphira and considered the importance Christ places on truth. Today we’ll consider another related error influencing Ananias and Sapphira: over concern with how they appeared to others.
Putting more weight on how others view us than how God sees us is a dangerous temptation. If we can persuade others we’re godly, we think we’re godly. Subconsciously, then, we value how others see us as more important than who we really are. We also may be tempted to justify sin if we can reason that nobody knows about it, so nobody’s being hurt or influenced by it. When we make a mistake, we may try to cover it up by lying about it to others. Gradually, God’s place of priority is usurped by what we view as our image. Our choices and actions actually diminish God’s greatness.
Sometimes we feel compelled to tell others about the good things we’re doing, sharing with the excuse that, “I’m just trying to be a good example to others,” and forgetting the wisdom of Proverbs 27:2, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.” Jesus addressed this superficiality: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. . . . But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret”(Matthew 6:1-3). Sometimes it’s impossible to give anonymously, but often it’s easier than we want to admit. If our goal is to glorify God, that person facing hardship doesn’t need to know that the $100 came from us. God will receive more glory for that money if the recipient doesn’t know what person gave it than if a signature is attached. Signing a Christmas gift or graduation card is different because part of our purpose in those instances is to let the recipient know that we, specifically, appreciate them. Jesus’ encouragement in Matthew 6, however, is to view other charitable actions as so private that one of our hands doesn’t know what the other is doing, anonymously giving for God’s glory.
Remember that what God sees matters much, much more than what others think. Allow that thought to motivate you. Keep God as your top priority, and value truth. Perhaps this Christmas season ask God for an opportunity to glorify him with an anonymous kindness or gift to someone.