Can someone help interpret Matthew 6:3 for me please?

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sidetrack said:
I got this from phrases.org.uk/meanings/225650.html
“But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”-Matthew 6:3 (King James Version).I have never understood what that means.
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It is simply saying to give alms very quietly, without seeking any attention or praise for doing so. Our Lord says uses a device called hyperbole, or exaggerating for effect. You can’t literally be so quiet about your almsgiving that your left hand doesn’t know that your right hand has given anything, but it makes the point that you should not seek notice or to be esteemed by others for your charity.

Very apt - so many people these days are the total opposite, naming their charities after themselves, getting splashed all over the media at fundraisingh events and making sure EVERYBODY knows exactly how large a chunk of money they’re giving away, a la Bill and Melinda Gates with their ‘foundation’
 
St. Augustine gives three possible explanations to this verse with the understanding that the left hand mentioned represents an unbeliever, your enemy, or your wife, here.

But I think the left hand mentioned is a simply a left hand…
I am right-handed, as most people are, and, if I had a bag full of coins and was going to give one away as an alms, I would hold the open bag in my left hand, and reach into it with my right hand, take out a coin from the top of the pile, and give the coin away. Since my left hand would be holding the bag, bearing the full weight of the bag, it would “know” how many coins were in the bag; my right hand, reaching into it and only touching the top of the pile, would not “know” how many coins were in the bag. If my left hand “knew” that there were few coins in my bag and knew what my right hand was doing, it might prevent my right hand from giving away any coins as alms. So, I think the verse is a call to us Christians to an uncalculating generosity, to give to those in need whether our money bag is heavy with lots of coins or light with few coins. Or, as Jesus said elsewhere, “Give to him who begs from you.” (Matthew 5:42a)
 
Jesus,our Lords peace be with You.
What it means is that what ever good You do,don’t tell it around,don’t wait for a thank You and pray that only God saw what You did. Simply,do good things seen only by our heavenly Father.
 
sidetrack said:
I got this from phrases.org.uk/meanings/225650.html
“But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”-Matthew 6:3 (King James Version).I have never understood what that means.
Click to expand...
Quite strange, that you missed seeing it already interpreted in Matt 6:1-2, even before being said in Matt 6:3.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (Matt 6:1-2 KJV)
 
Another commentary on this verse has: “Keep it [your almsgiving] hidden even from yourself, not speculating about your good work, even in your own mind.” (Bishop Frederick Knecht, A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture, 1923, page 475.)
 
Pitcharan said:
Quite strange, that you missed seeing it already interpreted in Matt 6:1-2, even before being said in Matt 6:3.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (Matt 6:1-2 KJV)
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Yes. ! Jesus just finished calling them salt and light and saying that they should glorify God before men by their works. Here he appears on the surface to contradict that, and which many take as a contradiction rather than a riddle which reveals truth.

Jesus uses consistent imagery.

Sheep are on the right, goats on the left. The left side represents the flesh and the right, the spirit.

Do your spiritual works before men (don’t hide them under a bushel) but don’t let your flesh take credit for it, rather glorify God as the works are intended to do. The intent of this passage is focusing on your motivation, ‘to be seen of men’.
 
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