Your Reward is from God
““Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:1-6 WEB)
Are you doing good works to be seen by men so that you can get their applause? If that is so, their vain and empty praises are your only reward.
Is it really worth it though? Does their opinion of you really matter when they don’t really care that much about you?
Think about it: who are you doing all these things for?
Know this: God is your Rewarder. He is the only one you should aim to please.
If man doesn’t agree with the righteous works you do, it’s fine as long as you are doing what the Holy Spirit has led you to do, and you have peace in your conscience and spirit.
You can’t do anything in secret to God for He knows everything.
Man usually does evil things in secret—things they are afraid or ashamed of letting others know about.
However, you child of God, do good works in secret. Seek no praise from man, and believe that God Himself will reward you.
“Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 WEB)
It is not a sin to serve Him with an expectation of receiving rewards. If not, the Scriptures would not encourage you to believe that God is a Rewarder of those who seek Him, and to do good things in secret so that He will reward you openly.
After being enlightened about His rewards, to pretend as if there is no reward is just hypocrisy, and to say that the reward is not important is to slight God’s goodness—as if His rewards are not good enough to excite you.
““Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12 WEB)
Our Lord Jesus is coming back soon, and His reward is with Him, to repay us for our good works. The repayment for our evil works has already been settled in full at the cross—Jesus took the punishment in His own body. Only rewards are ahead of you, child of God!
Learn about the eternal rewards that God has for us, how to maximize them, and how to identify and walk worthily in your God-given calling: http://bit.ly/sandcastlesdontlastforever
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