Readings for such a time as this(5): - from: The Warfare of the Spirit: Religious Ritual Versus the Presence of the Indwelling Christ. ____________ The Art of Doing Good Unobtrusively—Part II The Left Hand and the Right In searching the Holy Scriptures two facts need to be faced squarely: One is that in the body of revealed truth there are no real contradictions; the other, that contradictions do sometimes appear to be present. To admit contradictions is to deny the infallibility of the Word; to deny that they seem to be there is to be unrealistic and put ourselves at the mercy of our enemies. In our Lords teachings concerning good works, for instance, it is easy to find apparent inconsistencies. In Matthew 5:16 He says plainly, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven. The words that they may see can only mean that it is His purpose to exhibit the righteous lives of His people before the unrighteous world, and the words and glorify your Father in heaven tell us why He wants thus to exhibit them. It is that He may provide an example of godliness which will exercise strong moral influence upon persons who would otherwise not be affected. That much is easy. The apparent contradiction comes further on when He says, Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth (Matthew 6:1, 3). Here our Lord appears, but only appears, to cancel out His instructions given a few moments before. Bluntly, it would seem that in one place He says Let and in the other Let not. Christ being the incarnation of truth cannot utter contradictions. There must be an explanation which will preserve the organic unity of His teachings and reconcile the two passages. I believe there is. In one place our Lord speaks of moral conduct, and says in effect, Go out into the world and live lives so pure and good that your fellow men cannot but see; and when they see they will glorify God who has given such moral power unto men. In the other He says, Do not make a show of your kind acts. When you help your neighbor, when you minister to the poor, be sure your motive is right. See that your motive is to glorify God and not to earn a cheap reputation as a philanthropist or a heavy giver. Seek not to be known for your generosity, for there lies a snare, and you must by all means avoid it. From the Scriptures quoted and from countless others we gather truths which may be condensed into this admonition: Live a pure, righteous life and do not hide it from the world. As much as lies in you, do good to all men, but do it unobtrusively so as not to draw attention to yourself nor bring embarrassment to the one you help. Unquestionably we are here to do good, but good that is done ostentatiously destroys itself in the doing. Kind acts are fragile things and must be handled carefully if they are not to become unkind and actually injure the one for whom they are performed. It is possible to donate a large sum of money and lay down terms for its use so dictatorial as to destroy what might otherwise have been a virtuous act. Almost everyone has at some time been amused or disgusted by the well-heeled extrovert who swept up the dinner check with such a satisfied air as made his guest feel under obligation. But over against this I know men who habitually do favors in such a manner as to leave the impression that they and not the recipient are being favored. This is a fine and beautiful art, and one that does not come easily. The Christian who would have his good works accepted by his Lord will be careful not to tell them abroad, and certainly he will be careful not to boast of them. And we must remember that the neat little disclaimer we hear so often, I say this to the glory of God, does not change the moral quality of the words that follow. Boasting is boasting, no matter how we dress it. Again, I have observed how certain moneyed laymen use their generous donations as a kind of gentle blackmail to enable them to retain control of church affairs. And we all know the preacher who allows himself to get so far under obligation to certain of his rich parishoners that he has no independence left. He is their man—bought and paid for—and in their company he dare never again speak all the truth. It is a spiritual grace to help people without putting them under obligation, without humiliating them and without establishing a superior-inferior relationship. It is an art that can do good casually instead of formally or, as the teenagers say, making a production out of it. The world has a saying that if you want to lose a friend, do him a favor. Without doubt this saying is the crystallization of many and bitter experiences in the give and take of human relations. But could the fault be all on one side? Maybe when we did our friend a favor we adopted a patronizing attitude that struck at his self-respect and stung him to the quick. Surely of all people we Christians should best know how to receive favors without servility and do good without arrogance. Our Lord was a master of this art; we can learn from Him. - via WORDsearch10 #readingsforsuchatimeasthis #christjesus #vineofchristministries #theword #studyscripture #god #biblestudy #bible #jesus #faith #tozer #holyspirit
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 03:07:40 +0000
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