"Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full." But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then the Father, who see what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:1-4
Do you ever feel that what you are doing in this world goes unnoticed? Do you feel you are being obedient to God and pouring yourself into your ministry, but never seem to feel the fulfillment that you see in others? They seem to be moving ahead, getting all the attention. You think "But look at what I am doing, don't you notice all my hard work?" You see the joy that other people have and you just want some of that for yourself.
Maybe you should stop and think about your motives. Why are you really doing these things? Are you really doing them for God, serving Him with a pure heart, or are you doing them for yourself and the feel-good-feeling you get when you are praised by others. It doesn't matter how many compliments we get from people. What matters is knowing that God sees what we are doing. He sees our hearts and whether we are serving Him with pure motives. When we keep our motives in check and our eyes on God, He rewards us accordingly. Let us always evaluate our motives in all that we do and serve God with humble hearts. Remember their is no reward that this world has to offer that can compare with the rewards God has in store for those who love and serve Him.
Love In Christ,
Kim Ratcliffe
I was reading the blog and love Kim's words, and one thing comes to mind. I was reading the book The Shack. Have you read it? Very eye opening! God doesn't want us to see ourselves as 'better than others', all people are created equal. So if someone needs help, it takes more to keep what you've done a secret yes, but God knows what you have done and that is what counts. Don't ever think that you are better than someone, it's not righteous. I had a hard time with this, because up to a few years ago, I often thought of myself better than others, and not better than others too! It's not until recently when we have been having rough times that this has become apparent to me. Now 'I' feel like the people that I was looking down to for so many years (ironic huh?), but it's not bothering me as much anymore, because I know God will provide for us, he already has in so many ways. I keep saying to myself we are all equal! I love you guys!
ReplyDeleteJule Burton