Rewards are Awkward

"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6 (emphasis added)

Reward is built into the Christian life. This is a little awkward for me, because I’ve been taught that you shouldn’t have to have a reward to do the right thing. I still believe that’s the case, but we don’t live in an ideal world. Also, when just looking at the rest of my life, I optimize for reward - what will this action bring me? To divorce the Christian life from reward takes the teeth and action out of it, because you can have a faith without fruit, a life without results.

I was reading a book about why men don’t like going to church and it mentioned reward was a big part of it. Men are more likely to look at the reward of a certain activity. And why not? I don’t do things unless I consider it worth my time. I just don’t think I realized how much of a hypocrite I was being in insisting my time / money / energy meant something outside of faith while insisting for pure motives inside.

This isn’t just some obscure verse - it’s an oft-quoted one from the Faith chapter. And this isn’t the only time Jesus talks about reward. When Peter tells Jesus they have given up everything, Jesus talks about the reward the disciples will receive for their sacrifice. In work, rewards are one of the most basic motivational tactics. It looks like, yet again, my own ideas of the world come smack into the truth of scripture and I am forced to change or ignore them.

Thank you Lord for your word is truth. Thank you for using rewards to bring us to you. Thank you for being a realist and seeking us where we are at, and not waiting till our motivations or lives are perfect before seeking us out.