Friday

Do you have a caregiver you go to when you really want something? For some, it’s mom, for some it’s dad, for some, it’s step-mom, for some it’s grandpa…the list goes on and on. In my house, if I really wanted something, I would go to my mom. I knew she was a sucker for the blue eyes I inherited from her. All it took was a wide-eyed begging and I knew she’d be saying yes faster than I could say “Thank you!”

I’m not saying this is a healthy model of child-parent relationships, or even the ideal parent model. But it reminds me in a mischievous way of the text in Matthew, where Jesus says: “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 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.” Now, in the case of my parents, one of the hands was giving out disproportionately (and sometimes in secret) because they happened to have a wily eldest daughter who may have been manipulating the system. In the case of Matthew 6, Jesus is trying to underscore a timeless truth: that when you give, don’t do it for anyone to see. Do it because you feel compelled and because generosity is the best way to live.

What could you give that wouldn’t be seen by anyone but God?