I am naturally right-handed (and also left footed, for any interested soccer types out
there). There are some things, however, that I
do equally well—or even better—with my left
hand. For instance, I can bowl equally terribly
left-handed or right-handed. Also, I have a very
difficult time throwing a frisbee with my right
hand. Truthfully, it can be quite dangerous to
anyone who may happen to be standing
immediately to my right! With my left, however, I
am far more accurate. Not sure why that is, but it
is (one of my sons has a similar—and better—
“dual-handedness.” He throws balls and shoots
a basketball with his right hand, but eats,
brushes his teeth, and writes with his left). In a
very real way, there are times when neither my
right hand nor my left knows what the other is
doing.
Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 6. Of
course, he is not talking about eating or throwing
a ball or bowling. He is speaking about our
motivation in caring for others. The call is to
meet the needs of others with the love of Christ.
In meeting those needs, the call is also to do it
without fanfare. Reality is that we get to choose
who “gives us a trophy.” We get to decide if we
want to receive the accolades of the world for
the good things we have done, or we if we want
to give God the glory for it all. If we choose the
appreciation of the world, then we have our
reward. If we choose instead to give to and care
for others the way in which Jesus describes,
then we are also rewarded—but in this case we
are rewarded by God.
Personally, I fail at this more than I’d like
to admit. But I want to make sure going forward
that my right hand and left hand remain ignorant
of one another.
–Ricky
