Rewards are a big thing to God …

Any of us can understand the idea of “do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do” even if we don’t actually do it. Doing the right thing because it is right should be, in itself, our reward.

Yet many live their lives doing things to receive rewards. We human beings tend to be reward-oriented thinkers. Another term that often means the same thing is “selfish.”

But not always!

While we tend to struggle with being overly self- and rewards- oriented, it’s interesting to see how the Bible reveals that it is important to God for Him to give rewards to His children.

From the beginning of God’s interaction with His creation, we see God saying He wants to provide a great life for us, and if we do “x, y and z …” He will reward us with …

God promised Noah rewards …

He promised Abraham rewards …

He promised Israel rewards …

He promised multiple other persons we read about in scripture various rewards …

… and He promises rewards to anyone who surrenders their life to Him.

God desires to reward us! He wants us to live in relationship with Him in such a way that results in a lavish response from Him.

One person who had somewhat of a grip on this concept was King David, the guy described in scripture as being a man “… after God’s own heart …” From that simple description, we think the great things David did were always entirely motivated by his love for God.

It wasn’t that simple for David.

When young David showed up at the standoff between Israel and Philistine as recorded in 1 Samuel 17, we see something interesting in verses 26-30. David hears about the great reward offered to whoever takes out Goliath, the Philistine champion. If you notice, David does not say, “That doesn’t mean anything to me, I’m a spiritual guy and just want to make God smile.” Instead, note in the following verses how David asks a couple times for specific details of what kind of reward will be given for the guy who whips Goliath …

“David asked the soldiers standing nearby, ‘What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?’ And these men gave David the same reply. They said, ‘Yes, that is the reward for killing him.’ But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. ‘What are you doing around here anyway?’ he demanded. ‘What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!’ ‘What have I done now?’ David replied. ‘I was only asking a question!’ He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.”

When you read the story in context, we see David was not primarily motivated to stand for God before Goliath and the Philistine army for the selfish reason of reward, he stood as God’s man for the time. But he also understood that sometimes “doing the right thing” comes with reward in excess of God’s smile.

Like David, God desires we “do the right thing” because it’s the right thing to do, from a right heart. Yet He also provides additional motivation, especially for when doing the right thing can be extremely costly. He speaks to us over and over again in the New Testament about the reward to come for all those who trust in and obey Him. What we don’t see in the Bible is instruction to pursue reward; rather, we’re commanded to pursue God with all our love and being, and then are encouraged that God desires to reward that love. Reward is attached to relationship, as clearly seen in Colossians 3:1-4:

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”

The concept is the relational principle of a child and parent. The child loves his father and wants to make him proud. Beyond that, the father will reward the child for living well and doing right. While the child may appreciate the promise of reward, the driving motivation is the loving relationship with the father.

It’s the same with our heavenly Father. Because of our love for God, we are committed to a life obedient to Him. We also understand that God will reward us for our commitment to Him, yet it’s the “Well done …” we receive as we enter into His presence that means more than anything! When we place reward ahead of relationship, the result is a version of “Christian hedonism,” pursuing the pleasures of reward through acts of “obedience.”

I love the way scripture itself gives us a great perspective of reward. In Revelation 4, we see the picture of the Lord on His throne, surrounded by (among others) 24 elders. You can see some of the reward these elders have received … they are sitting on thrones with a front row seat to the presence of God, and they’re wearing gold crowns. Great stuff, right? The picture continues with the 24 elders falling down in worship of the Lord, and removing those golden crowns and placing them before the Lord as they state how He is the One worthy of praise. The thrones and crowns were nice, but they are less than trinkets compared to the presence of God! These elders thought nothing of handing back those crowns in an act of worship.

It’s not the reward, it’s the relationship. And for the relationship, God will reward.

Don’t undervalue the reward. It is important to God that He reward you. He wants to reward you! But the pursuit is the presence of God, not the prize of the crown.

Is God alone enough for you? Or are you reaching for something beyond God by trying to go through Him?

Scotty