When you give alms, keep it a secret and your Father in heaven who sees what is hidden will repay you. This statement might be misunderstood to mean that God repays us when we give alms or perform some charitable acts. However, this will be far from what Jesus intended to convey. Alms-giving is encouraged in the Scriptures, and is one of the corporal works of mercy that is expected of a Christian. Alms-giving is a means of sharing in the lives of others as well as inviting them to share in one’s life. It is a human act. “When you give alms, keep it a secret…” Jesus might have seen the way alms-giving was being abused in his society. Parading alms-giving was (and still is) unethical. It reduces the men and women receiving the alms into mere conduits for the donors to show off. Parading of charitable acts robs the recipients of their dignity as men and women created in the image of God, reducing them into beings who can “only” survive on hand-outs.
We give alms because it is the right thing to do. We perform charitable acts because we are good stewards, being responsible for the gifts God has given us. We engage in charitable acts as a thanksgiving to God for God’s blessing, and as a means of blessing others.