We now have more appearances seen as more important than genuine actions, and this is something aching in our world today. Sadly, charity has become something many people use to make themselves look good rather than helping people from their hearts.
Optics (how people appear to others) has become more evident than the actual work, which is what really matters. Yet, charity is supposed to be an act of love, compassion and obedience to God’s call to care and support one another, especially those in need.
For me, I always view charity through the lens of my faith in Christ. The Lord calls us to help those in need, not for show off but out of love. In the Scripture, charity means love, not just in giving material things but in showing genuine care for others.
It is when we give from a place of love that we reflect Christ’s heart. It is very sad today that many people choose to do good for self-promotion. They crave attention and recognition more than they desire to do the good work to make a difference.
The Bible teaches that when we do good with our right hand, our left hand should not know about it. What this means is that our giving should not be loud, but quiet and with humility.
But many people today do good works with both hands for everyone to see; one hand in giving and the other in making a video of it so others would know they are kind. They announce every donation, every act of kindness, every visit to the orphanage home, the poor, etc just to make others praise them.
Believe me or not, these people may earn human praise but as the Word of God says, they have already received their reward here on earth. God is never pleased with such acts.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with posting about these acts of giving, especially when it’s done for accountability or recording for future reference. But when the motive is different from this, to be seen and celebrated, the purpose of charity is lost and useless.
We don’t have to be the centre of attention when we want to do charity work. It should be done out of God’s love for us and for the people we want to care for. I believe integrity matters in charity work, that is, doing the right thing even when no one is watching or noticing.
When it comes to giving, I have made donations to support repairs around the area, help raise foodstuffs in the family and majorly in church for different purposes. I also give directly to people in need. However, I don’t go about investigating whether the money reached the right channel or not.
When it comes to donating myself, I can only find a trusted person to help me handle it and above all, I give as my heart and God lead me.
For me, once I have done my part in obedience, I leave the rest to God who sees every heart. If the people handling it are sincere, then the blessings continue, and if not, which I believe no one sees the human heart, then it is between them and God. I am out of it already.
We cannot fully know what the other person is thinking in his heart; while some are genuinely helping, others are simply exercising their greed and using the opportunity to exploit, which is very possible, and it cannot be stopped.
Where money is, we see greed play out in people’s hearts. We all would reap what we sow, but for me to start finding out if it goes to the right people or not, I don’t think I would ever do that, except I am part of the team handling it, where I would purposely do it myself and ensure everything goes as planned and reaches the right people.
That is why I believe that it is our responsibility to give with a pure heart and not for the purpose of exploitation while leaving the outcome to God. He knows how He does His work without intrusion. We do what we can and we let Him handle the rest. To me, it’s as simple as that.
It is important to constantly remind ourselves why we give or donate in the first place. True charity is not about optics; it’s about love. It’s about doing what is right, even if nobody is watching, because at the end of the day, God sees everyone, and that’s what matters most to me.
He will pay everyone for their deeds, whether in a good or bad way. I believe that with this, we should not stop giving, but be encouraged to keep doing the right thing even if others are doing it to gain recognition. At the right time, we will be rewarded.
Images Credit to Meta AI
