So that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. The reward from the Father who sees in secret is the counterpart to the reward received from human applause: one is visible, public, and immediately received; the other is invisible, private, and eschatologically received. The Father who sees in secret is not merely privacy-respecting but actively present in the secret space — he sees what no human audience can see, and his seeing is the context for the reward. 1 Samuel 16:7 says the Lord looks on the heart; Matthew 6:4 extends this principle to the Father's perception of the motive behind the giving. The reward is not specified here, consistent with the principle that the one seeking human approval has defined what counts as reward.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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