COVERTLY GOOD

Matthew 6:1—Be careful no to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Have you seen the bumper sticker, "Practice Random Acts of Kindness"? Random means "having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective." There is a kernel of profoundness to that pithy saying. The idea is to work at being kind spontaneously. Jesus, knowing the hearts of people, goes much deeper. He tells us in Matthew 6: 3,4, to give without our left hand knowing what our right hand is doing. Many randomly give but in such a way that others will notice. Try being good without being observed. There is a covert goodness God sees and rewards. He wants our bumper sticker to read, "Practice Secret Acts of Kindness."

Inspiration

Get into the habit of having such a relationship to God that you do good without knowing you do it, then you will no longer trust your own impulse, or your own judgment, you will trust only the inspiration of the Spirit of God. The mainspring of your motives will be the Father’s heart, not your own; the Father’s understanding, not your own. When once you are rightly related to God, He will use you as a channel through which His disposition will flow.—Oswald Chambers in Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.