Keep it quiet!

There was a famous man who was a millionaire and liked to give money to charity. His favourite trick was, when asked for a donation, to pull out his cheque book from his back pocket and write one out payable to the particular charity who was asking. He didn't do this in order to give quietly to charity. He did it this way so that the person receiving the chaque would tell lots of people how this man simply wrote out a cheque almost without thinking. In other words, the method of giving was used to impress others.

In Chapter 6 of his gospel, Matthew has Jesus saying, "So, when you give your alms, do not announce it with a flourish of trumpets, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and in the street to win the praise of others." Thinking about it, Jesus did not begin his ministry with a flourish of trumpets either. He just started talking to men about God and what was required of them. In his home towm of Nazareth he started in the local synagogue. The locals just didn't believe that their local carpenter was the Messiah. Can you blame them?

Despite all the beautiful myths that tell of his birth he did not even enter upon life with a flourish of trumpets. He was born in a quiet cave behind an inn in Bethlehem. So it tells us indirectly that we too should go about our business of proclaiming Christ in low key. We often see and hear so called evangelists standing in the street to preach the gospel. It does not work. We have to be more subtle than that.

When we help each other we are doing what Jesus would do. So all we do is go out and discover what we can do for others. What will follow, eventually, is a question - "Why are you helping me?" Then we can say why. We used to live in a small town in the Fens of East Anglia. My wife found out that a neighbour had just come home from hospital. She went round to ask if she needed any help. The woman was amazed. "No one round here has ever asked if I need help before!" she declared. This way your neighbour (meaning anyone else) responds very positively to your offer. You have then just started on the long road to introducing them to Christ. Put up a sign at your church that says all are welcome and you will waste the money you have paid to get the sign painted.

So, from this we can see that not only are we exhorted to give anonamously but it is the best way to be effective. See what I mean? Crafty eh?