Should Our Giving Be Motivated By Rewards?

due due westhat was your immediate response to the title of this post? My guess is that most of you thought, “No way! Giving should live totally pure … with absolutely no self serving motives. After all, isn’t Agape love that pure honey that expects absolutely goose egg inwards furnish?” Do you know what? I thought the same matter, but I have got got a dilemma — how create nosotros foursquare these high minded notions of giving with these words from Jesus:

When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I state you lot the truth, they keep received all the payoff they will ever acquire. But when you lot give to someone inward demand, don’t permit your left paw know what your correct mitt is doing. Give your gifts inward private, likewise your Father, who sees everything, will reward you lot. – Matthew vi:ii-4

Don’t store upwardly treasures hither on soil, where moths swallow them together with rust destroys them, as well as where thieves intermission inward together with pocketbook. Store your treasures in sky, where moths as good as rust cannot destroy, together with thieves practice not intermission inwards together with pocket. Wherever your treasure is, at that spot the desires of your midpoint testament also live.” – Matthew one-half-dozen:xix-21

There you go. In the first passage, Jesus promises that the Father will reward those who give with pure motives. He together with then, in the 2d passage, defines these rewards as treasures inward sky.

Do you acquire the view that Jesus wants us to be motivated yesteryear times rewards? I gain, and hither are some reasons why:

Jesus is practical.

As he points out, whatever treasures we gain here on earth are momentary. One only need to drive by a junk yard to see all of the rusty automobiles that were once highly valued treasures. A practical person, instead of saving up stuff that will break, rust or decay, should store upwardly treasures which hold up for eternity.

Jesus knows that nosotros tin transportation it ahead.

After J. D. Rockefeller died, someone asked his accountant, “How much did he leave behind?” The accountant’s classic answer was, “All of it.” How utterly truthful! But Jesus knows something the accountant mightiness not lead hold known: “You mightiness non live able to accept it with yous…but you lot tin strength out send it ahead.”

Jesus wants to modify our priorities.

By comparing earthly (besides thus temporary) goods alongside heavenly (too therefore eternal) goods, Jesus forces us to re-prioritize our lives. This stark contrast motivates us to intend inwards heavenly price instead of earthly. If in that location were no heavenly treasures, this modify inwards priorities would non be such a clear challenge.

Jesus wishing to modify our hearts.

Once our priorities are challenged, our hearts testament also live challenged. Jesus wants us to live more than practical; he wants us to intend His thoughts together with experience His feelings. Focusing on heavenly treasures volition lead virtually that modification.

Randy Alcorn, in his book “The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving”, shares the adjacent analogy:

Imagine yous are alive at the terminal of the Civil War. You are living inwards the South, but yous are a Northerner. You programme to motion identify equally soon as the country of state of war is over. While inward the South you have got accumulated lots of Confederate currency. Now. Suppose y'all know for a fact that the North is going to win the tell of state of war, as good as the goal is imminent. What testament you lot gain amongst your Confederate currency? If you are smart, yous testament at i time cash inwards your Confederate currency for U. due due south. currency — the lone coin that will have value in ane lawsuit the ground of state of war is over. Keep exclusively enough Confederate currency to run into your pocket-size term needs.

The message is clear: we every scrap good should invest inwards a currency that will guide maintain ongoing value … eternal value.

I want to be perfectly clear in stating that we never give in order to win God’s love…that is something we already have. We do so simply because our heavenly Father wants us to have some eternal investments. Remember: it is His idea, not ours. As we live out our few years here on Earth, God want us to be enthusiastically expectant about our upcoming eternity with Him … an excitement which comes at least partly from the promise that we will have treasures inward sky. That hope motivates me to live all the more giving today. How nigh you lot?

Readers: Jump inwards hither amongst your thoughts. Should our giving live motivated by the hope of rewards? Meet us inwards the comments!