Doing good without ostentation holds great merit; hiding the hand that gives is even more meritorious. It is an incontestable sign of great moral elevation, for in order to view things from a higher state than the ordinary, one must look past the present life and identify with the future life; in other words, one must place oneself above humanity in order to renounce the satisfaction that seeks to be witnessed by others, and to wait for approval from God. Those who prefer others’ approval to God’s approval show that they have more faith in others than in God and that the present life is worth more than the future life – or even that they do not believe in the future life at all. If they say otherwise,  they act as if they do not believe in what they say.

How many there are who give only in the hopes that the beneficiary will shout the benefit from the rooftops; who give large sums in broad daylight, but would not give a cent in darkness! This is why Jesus stated that those who do good ostentatiously have already received their reward. In fact, those who seek their own glorification on earth because of the good they do have already been paid; God owes them nothing more; the only thing that remains for them to receive is punishment for their pride. is an image that wonderfully  characterizes modest beneficence. However, if there is such a thing as true modesty, there is also such a thing as feigned modesty – the simulation of modesty. There are people who hide the hand that gives, letting a small portion to be shown while looking to see if anyone is watching them hide the rest of it. An unworthy parody on the maxims of Christ! If prideful benefactors are despised by other people, how will they be regarded by God? They have also received their reward on earth. They have been seen and they are satisfied because of it. That is all they will have.

And what will be the reward for those who make their benefits weigh heavily on their beneficiaries, those who in some way demand to be acknowledged by them, making them feel their position by extolling the price of the sacrifices they have imposed on themselves for their sake? Oh! There is not even an earthly reward for these givers because they are deprived of the sweet satisfaction of hearing their name blessed; and that is the first punishment for their pride. Instead of rising up to heaven, the tears they dry in the interest of their vanity fall back upon the heart of the afflicted and ulcerate it. The good they do is without profit to themselves, for it is deplored, and every deplored benefit is a false and worthless coin.

Kindness without ostentation has a two-fold merit: besides material charity, it portrays moral charity; it spares the susceptibility of its beneficiaries and enables them to accept the benefit without bruising their self-esteem, and it safeguards their human dignity, because they will accept a service but  not  a handout.  Now, changing a service into a handout because of the way it is rendered is to humiliate the one who receives it, and there is always pride and malice involved in humiliating another person. True charity, on the other hand, is sensitive and skillful in concealing the benefit rendered and in avoiding the least harmful appearances, since any moral offense adds to the suffering born from need. This sort of charity is able to find kind and affable words that put beneficiaries at ease in the presence of their benefactors, whereas prideful charity crushes them. The sublime aspect of true generosity is present when benefactors switch roles and find a way for they themselves to appear to be the actual beneficiaries of those to whom they render their service. That is the meaning of the words, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”