Rewards

Children are so motivated by rewards. When I teach French to my grandchildren, we usually play number bingo, using cards from my teaching days. They listen as I call out the numbers in French, and when they have a complete row, they shout "Bingo!" They are excited to collect their tiny bonbon, less than a centimetre in size. They can play this game for an hour.

Another day, we grandparents took all four children to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. There they loved to take part in various sports challenges like "skiing" by standing on a platform that moves from side to side, while avoiding obstacles on the "ski hill" projected onto a screen.

When they had exhausted every challenge, the two boys discovered a scavenger hunt based on the Stanley Cup, Canada's famous hockey trophy. They ran around looking for answers to the trivia questions on a sheet of paper. That meant actually reading the information at each display, searching for the obscure bits of information. Finally, every blank was filled, and we rushed triumphantly to the front desk to hand in our answers. "There's not actually a prize for this," said the receptionist. I could sense the boys' disappointment; they expected something for their efforts.

As adults, are we not motivated by rewards as well? When I taught in a school whose students and staff memorized Scripture every month, we were recognized at the morning assembly if we memorized the entire portion by the end of the first week of the month. In June, we were especially rewarded if we had accomplished this feat every month of the school year. A paper certificate and applause was nothing, however, compared to the internal satisfaction of hiding God's Word in our hearts.

Acts 10:38a – And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good. (NLT)

We are so programmed to achieve in order to receive a reward, and we are often disappointed when we do good and are not recognized. We should learn to do good things just because that is what Jesus did. The Bible does, however, promise that eventually, we will be rewarded when we work for Him.

Ephesians 6:7-8 – Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do. (NLT)

Let us shift our focus and realize that it is an eternal reward that we are working for, and it doesn't necessarily come in our lifetime. Just as the master in Jesus' parable praised his servant, "Well done, my good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:23a NLT), let us look forward to words of commendation from our Lord when we finally see Him face-to-face.

Prayer: Lord, help us to work enthusiastically for You, realizing that our real reward comes from You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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