Mt 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Mt 6:3-4 "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; your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly." What's your take on resolving the apparent contradiction between these verses? Am I supposed to show my good works or keep them secret?
Asked by: Anonymous
At first glance, I can see where these verses look like they would be contradicting each other. But I think that we need to get down to the heart of the matter, and it’s just that—-the heart.
Motives have a lot to do with Christianity. Jesus said that just because we don’t murder someone doesn’t mean we don’t still sin by hating them. The way our hearts respond to people and situations is so important in living a godly life. Jesus has never wanted us to simply go through motions, but has instead wanted us to be so committed to Him that it changes every aspect of who we are. That is why the Bible says that we are a ‘new man’ when we are baptized, because the former person—the former sins we had and the former ways we lived—are gone, and a new person—a godly, Christ-centered person— now lives. That theme is common throughout the New Testament. Look at Romans 6:6, Eph. 4:22-24, and Col. 3:9 as examples.
All that being said, let’s go back to the question at hand—what about good works? Well, we know that we are supposed to do good works (Eph. 2:10). The question is, can we do those good works in public or should they always be done in secret?
In 1 Peter 2:12, Peter says, “having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
This verse goes hand in hand with Matt. 5:16. When other people observe the good works that we do, they shouldn’t really be seeing us at all—they should be seeing God working in us, and they should glorify Him because He alone is good. These works are meant to help those who are unbelievers, or strengthen those whose faith is weak. When people who are living a godless life see people who are living for Him, and they (godless people) see the way that God takes care of His own, they will want that. They will crave a relationship with Him, because it makes all the difference.
Matt. 6:3-4, then, is going back to the motives. See, if our motives are in the right place, we are going to want to bring others to Christ. As Christians, we are going to want to do good things for people who don’t do good things for us, or help people who can’t help us in return. Those are the types of good works that others will see and will then glorify God over. It is when our motives are messed up, that we start messing other things up.
God wants Christians to do good works (1 Pet. 2:12, Matt. 5:16, Gal. 6:10). However, He does not want us to do good works to show how good WE are. That should never be the case. Therefore, since pride is such an issue with humans, Jesus says, “…that your charitable deed may be in secret…”. If you are tempted to draw attention to yourself because of the things YOU’RE doing, then you should do the good works in private, lest you commit sin (and we can’t just not do the good works, because they’re commanded!). If, though, your motives are in the right place and you are doing the things you’re doing only for the glorification of God and not self, let those good works be seen by others so that they will glorify God.
When we emphasize self, we take God out of the picture. That is what is being warned against. Instead, “in all you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord.” (Col. 3:17)
