“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4

My pastor friend, Denver, told the story of a man back in the 1970, who snapped a crisp $100 bill and laid it in offering plate. As a fairly new believer Denver was astonished at the sight of a man putting so much money in the plate. Later upon further reflection, Denver’s comment was, “That man got his reward in church that day.” He wanted the people to see him put that much money in, and they did.

This verse is merely a reminder that showing off our wealth or good works doesn’t mean a thing to God. He’d rather we do our acts in secret, even though it seems like it’s totally counter-intuitive to what the world believes we should do.