One-time Rewards

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.

Colossians 3:23

Years ago, a popular auto product commercial on television said, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” The idea was that it makes more sense to pay for an oil change now than to pay to have the whole engine rebuilt later.

There is an aspect of that theme that is consistent with Jesus’ teaching on rewards for faithfulness in the spiritual life. In essence, He said, “You will be rewarded for the spiritual acts you undertake, but you’ll only be rewarded once. You can either do your acts for men and get your rewards from them, or do your acts for God and get your rewards from Him.” In other words, “Get your rewards now or get your rewards later—your choice.”

Why would anyone choose to forego the eternal riches of God’s rewards for the temporal rewards of man? Praise, notoriety, glory, and prominence—these are powerful and tempting inducements to work for man and be rewarded immediately. But a greater motivation for working only for God is the idea of being rewarded by Him alone with rewards that will never fade away.

Remember, we only get rewarded once. Choose the rewards that will last the longest and mean the most—those that come from God.