1 "(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
2
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites 2 do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
3
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
4
so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Source)
What I personally like with this biblical point from St. Matthew is that it subjectively tells us how to do the right thing when we share our gifts to the needy. Basically there are two kinds of giver on this world: the authentic ones and the bent arrow helpers.
As what has been laid out above, the real sense of giving is one that is given without expecting something in return. I salute all those people who have shared their resources like money, time, effort, possessions etc. with others especially in those moments of calamity. As St. Matthew was reminding us above, let us always be careful in making deeds of generosity for we don't know that we are performing them not out of our hearts' generosity but out of a desire that is self serving.
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On the other hand, although many are helped also by those donors and donations with self bested interests most notably coming from people in politics and other forms of service but in so many instances, it is disheartening to realise that the poor are make poorer by this wronged act. Moreover, others do the act in such a way that its attributes are just to boost one's ego and popularity. And sometimes, what makes it worse is when the needy are sort of being taken advantage of their misery.
Thus, when we have the desire to assist others to free them from their sufferings, let us do it with a pure intention and in a way that will help them get up then continue with their life. After all, life is such a special gift that ought to be shared with others.
