Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? Isaiah 29:15-16
“Objection #2: If I be liberal and bountiful, I shall only make a righteousness of it, and so it will do me more hurt than good. To this I say,
First, the same answer may be made to this, as to the former objection, viz. that you may as well make the same objection against doing any religious or moral duty at all. If this be a sufficient objection against deeds of charity, then it is a sufficient objection to prayer. For nothing is more common than for persons to make a righteousness of their prayers. So it is a good objection against your keeping the Sabbath, or attending any public worship, or ever reading in the Bible. For of all these things you are in danger of making a righteousness. — Yea, of the objection be good against deeds of charity, then it is as good against acts of justice. And you may neglect to speak the truth, may neglect to pay your debts, may neglect acts of common humanity; for of all those things you are in danger of making a righteousness. So that if your objection be good, you may throw up all religion, and live like heathens or atheists, and may be thieves, robbers, fornicators, adulterers, murderers, and commit all the sins that you can think of, lest if you should do otherwise, you should make a righteousness of your conduct.
Second, your objection carries it thus, that it is not best for you to do as God commands and counsels you to do. We find many commands in Scripture to be charitable to the poor. The Bible is full of them; and you are not excepted from those commands. God makes no exception of any particular kinds of persons that are especially in danger of making a righteousness of what they do. And God often directs and counsels persons to this duty. Now will you presume to say that God has not directed you to the best way? He has advised you to do thus, but you think it not best for you, but that it would do you more hurt than good, if you should do it. You think there is other counsel better than God’s, and that it is the best way for you to go contrary to God’s commands.”
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in Christian Charity or The Duty of Charity to the Poor, Explained and Enforced (1732) Section IV.
Edwards offers an interesting answer to the objection that says liberality or generosity will do me more harm than good. Basically, he shows the false thinking for what it is. It’s telling God you know better. It’s the pot telling the potter “you know nothing.”
We would not think of saying such a thing to God, and yet, it’s what we do when we ignore the advised path of righteous conduct. The paradox in this is that God does not force us to choose this path. He merely tells us the fruits that come with our decisions.
What about you? I am not asking what you have said to God with your lips. I want to know what your actions communicate to Him. Do your plans say radical obedience or worldly foolishness? The rich started on the right path. Be sure your trajectory aims at finishing well.