RIGHT AND LEFT

Jesus said: “But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-4)

Our right and left hand not knowing what the other is doing is of course an exaggeration and hyperbole. It is an obvious attempt to press us into humility in our giving and serving. The verse above this one tells us not “to blow a trumpet and let everyone know that you gave something to someone.” The terminology now is called a ‘virtue signaling’ and it is a perfect description of this principle:

“The action or practice of expressing one’s views or acting in a way thought to be motivated primarily by a wish to exhibit good character, social conscience, political convictions, etc., or to garner recognition and approval. It’s noticeable how often virtue signaling consists of saying you hate things. It is camouflage. The emphasis on hate distracts from the fact you are really saying how good you are.” (Oxford Dictionary)

Except for giving and acts of kindness… it is best that each hand knows what the other is doing.

A few years ago during a Bluegrass Festival in Westcliffe, Colorado one of the performers told about being raised in the mountains of West Virginia. He said a new family with a boy about his age moved in down the road from where he lived. He was excited and came home and told his mother that the new neighbor boy was ambidextrous. He said his mother told him to stay away from those kinds of people because that is not what they believed and he might get misled.

“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. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Jesus