Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained this truth in greater details. The Lord said: "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."
The Lord is not asking us to refrain from doing anything that shows on the outside. Sometimes we do need to perform good deeds openly and to pray in the public. The Lord is, however, asking us to not do these things in order to win rewards from people. It is important to examine our motivation - are we seeking to please God or to please people? Are we just doing these things for our own benefit? Do we really entrust everything to God?
Paul has encouraged wives to obey the husbands, husbands to love the wives, children to obey parents, parents not to enrage the children, servants to obey the master; all these are not only submissiveness on the outside, but also in our hearts. In every human relationship, it's always risky to take a step forward, because you never know how the other person will respond. Will the person accept you or reject you? Will the person ridicule you? If you are doing it for yourself, then it makes sense for you to not take the first step of love and obedience, because by human nature we should always try to protect ourselves! That's why Paul said that you must do it from the heart as if we are doing it for the Lord. Matthew 6:4 says that "...your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." He is the Father who will reward us. You will have assurance that your good deeds will be rewarded accordingly when you know that your Father is watching you in secret. When you take the first step of love and obedience, God will remember your good deed no matter how the other person responds. When you give all you've got to the needy, God will provide you with what you need, because our Father "sees what is done in secret."
Brothers and sisters, do you have such an assurance? If you have the assurance, you will be able to step forward in all your relationships by faith!
Pray with Pastor Tong
Lord Jesus, please open our eyes so that I can see you are sitting on the throne in our life. I ask that you give assurance to brothers and sisters. Starting today, no matter what we do, we no longer do it for people, but we do it from our heart, and only for you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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