Let’s Talk About Generosity

When was the last time you talked to someone about your generosity? If answering this question makes you feel a little uncomfortable then chances are you’re not alone. The truth is it’s difficult for many of us to talk about our generosity. Maybe this is attributed to Jesus’ words in his Sermon on the Mount. In this discourse Jesus says, “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored 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” (Matt. 6:2-3). Many of us interpret this to mean that nobody should know about our giving whether we speak it or show it. But as with many of Jesus’ teachings, what he’s really doing is redefining what righteous living is all about, not telling us to hide our giving.

Contrary to popular belief, Jesus is not telling us to intentionally hide or ignore our good deeds in this passage. Afterall, one way to guarantee your left hand knows what your right hand is doing is by consciously thinking about not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. The distinction Jesus makes is that we shouldn’t do a good deed in order to be seen. As theologian Dallas Willard comments about this idea in his book The Divine Conspiracy, “Jesus points beyond action to the source of action and character. The kind of people who have been so transformed by their daily walk with God that good deeds naturally flow from their character are precisely the kind of people whose left hand would not notice what their right hand is doing.” The point is, our generosity is intimately connected to our witness and therefore how can it not be seen?

Giving in secret in of itself isn’t righteous living. Giving as a response to the transformative life we’ve experienced through a loving relationship with Jesus is righteous living. As a new creation in Christ, a generous spirit should be so engrained in who we are that we are hardly aware of our own generosity. It flows from us effortlessly, like speaking our native language. If this is the source of our generosity, then we shouldn’t feel obliged to hide our giving. In fact, we should feel a degree of freedom to talk about our generosity with others. Sharing our experiences and stories of generosity as we live out our faith may encourage more people to experience that life for themselves.