Reflection
I’ve told this story a couple of times in the past…
Several years ago, I was sitting next to a friend at a dinner party, and the person sitting next to my friend was going on and on about a school event he wanted my friend to help fund.
My friend was quite wealthy, and the other person knew this. My friend was paying attention to this person, but I could tell he was annoyed. My friend kept telling the other person he would think about it, and the other person kept putting pressure on him.
After the other person left our table, I nudged my buddy and said, “So are you going to give money to him?” He smiled and said, “I already committed to funding the entire event a couple of weeks ago, but I did it under one condition; nobody would know about it.”
Lesson
I have always remembered that lesson on humility, and today I know if I need to tell someone about the great things I have done, I’m probably not that great.
“A great man is always willing to be little.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Matthew 6:1-4, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
