Crystal Writes A Blog

🎵Cliché Month: The Left Hand Didn’t Know What the Right Hand was Doing

I didn’t grow up attending a parochial school where students had their knuckles slapped for writing with their left hands, though even if I had, it wouldn’t have mattered for me since I’m thoroughly right-handed. In fact, I only crossed paths with a few left-handers throughout my life until I met my husband, a born-and-bred southpaw. (And, no, right-handers are not called northpaws.🤔)

With August 13th marking International Left-Handers Day, it felt like the perfect opportunity to celebrate him and his unique trait that belongs to only about 10 to 12 percent of the world’s population. It also got me thinking about how much strange, unfair baggage has been historically tied to the left side—and the famous clichés and idioms that followed.

In everyday work and planning, we all know the frustration when the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing. Tasks stall, wires cross, and you end up in a full-blown tug-of-war with your own to-do list. Scripture even reminds us of the practical necessity of coordination—nobody builds a tower without first sitting down to count the cost and make sure all efforts pull in the same direction.

“For which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it? Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was unable to finish.’”

Luke 14:28–30 (BSB)

Yet Scripture also offers a brilliant paradox in Matthew: when it comes to quiet generosity, we are instructed not to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. In character, humility means doing good without staging a self-congratulatory parade.

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,”

Matthew 6:3 (BSB)

We truly need both: the intentional coordination where both hands work as a unified team, and the quiet integrity where one hand acts without demanding applause from the other.

Here’s to giving our left hands a little extra appreciation—and making sure both hands stay in sync. How about you: are you a left-hander, or married to one like me? Or maybe both? 🤲

P.S. A fun FYI for you: There’s an old trick I learned from a kid’s album many (many) years ago. If you hold your hands out in front of you with the palms facing away, when you extend your thumb to a ninety-degree angle, your left hand will create the letter “L.” Is that cool, or what?

This is a fun song with a catchy chorus, but I couldn’t find it with lyrics. Still, this is a pretty amazing ensemble singing in this video.

August 13, 2026 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | AI, AI Image Creations, Bible, Bible Scripture Verses, Christianity, Clichés, Platitudes & Life Lessons, Current Events, Gemini (by Google), Nonfiction, Photo Studio Pro app, Text on Image, Walking With The Lord | Bible, Bible verse, cliche, don't let your left hand know, Gemini, idiom, international left-handers day, no applause, the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing | Leave a comment