The world entices you to make a name for yourself. It dazzles you with all the treasures you can amass if you sell your soul to it. It tells you that to be in the spotlight to gain acclaim from your fellow peers is the place of great reward.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Kingdom of God's reward system grows in secret. It accrues without acclaim. It grows without glory. We get a glimpse of this unique heavenly monetization system in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, where he comments on three spiritual disciplines that the Christian practices on a regular basis. The Pharisees made it an opportunity to showcase their spirituality to gain the applause of man. Jesus rebukes their practices in a scathing manner and teaches what really matters when it comes to tithing, prayer, and fasting.
Matthew 6:1-4 states, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."
The first verse lays out the general principle: don't parade your spirituality before mankind to gain their applause because it results in zero heavenly reward. It's a clarion call to be God pleasers over man pleasers. Yes, one cannot get away from doing things that gains people's attention. It's inevitable. However, this passage talks about our motives on why we do things. It delves into the realms of the heart. Again, if you do things to solely gain the recognition of man, no heavenly reward. If you do them for God, great heavenly reward. It's pretty simple, yet very challenging to practice on a regular basis. Why?
It requires faith. It requires living for the unseen realm. It actually requires living for the real world. What we see in the earthly realm, based on the Scriptures, is just a clouded mirror of the real spiritual world that effects us on a daily basis. Yet, to tithe, pray, fast, lead worship, do acts of kindness, be honest, and to do a myriad of other righteous activities in secret before God, requires faith when we are living for heavenly rewards. Why? There is no immediate gratification. The applause comes later in heaven. The ultimate reward is at the throne of God.
Tithing is to be done in secret. Prayer is to be done in secret (Matthew 6:5-15). Fasting is to be done in secret. All to be done in secret with God, not as a performance before man. For here lies the secret of amassing your rewards in heaven. It happens below the radar of man, but shouts through the speakers in heaven.
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