If you spend any time on college campuses you’ll notice the names on buildings. What used to be called simply the Science Labs is now the Walter H. White Science Labs, named after a generous benefactor. Colleges and universities constantly solicit gifts, and naming a building is one way to reward an openhanded donor.

I don’t knock that type of giving at all. I and my children benefit from such contributions. But that level of largesse remains beyond my ability. Fortunately, in the Lord’s eyes the value of the gift rests in the heart of the giver, not the total on the check.

In fact, there’s no need for me to let anyone know about the good things I do, be it financial giving or helping a neighbor clean up their yard. Paul wrote, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.

People notice your good deeds, even when you try to hide or act quietly. You gain a reputation of a person who helps others. No need to flaunt your kindnesses. The right people will see and understand.

Which is quite freeing. I don’t need to keep score. If someday I come into a fortune and endow the David L. Dishman School of Daydreaming, so be it. In the meantime, I can do the bits and pieces of good for others I find in front of me every day.

1 Timothy 5:25

Photo by Wonderlane