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Matthew 6:1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them:
otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
I was out doing some service today in a very public place, and a man, best described as a cross between a homeless man and Socrates, started talking to me. Conversation turned to the ego of many politicians and some infantile, self-absorbed behavior we have both seen in them (believe me, I have stories). The guy was really engaging to talk to, and was capable of an extremely intellectual, intelligent conversation, while also having a very homeless look (all his possessions in bags attached to his bicycle, weather beaten face, clothes very worn and dirty looking etcetera, but very handsome at the same time. Strange…). I felt like I was talking to one of my university colleagues, yet this man looked completely unlike the part…
Anyway, he asked about our organization. I explained its mission and I told him our non-profit had won an award recently from the Mayor of our municipality for the service projects we had done. He indicated that seeking an award was no different than the egocentric behavior of the politicians we had been discussing. He quoted the scripture at the top, and was highly critical that we had pursued and accepted an award for our service, which should be anonymous.
I replied the following:
1. I applied for the award as a way of motivating and retaining volunteers. To help them feel they were part of a successful, happening organization with their efforts rewarded by a prominent public figure. It wasn’t for my own self-aggrandizement.
2. I had served in my church (not named) for 20 years in leadership positions, but when I interviewed for a management position in my field, I was turned down due to “no experience” — in spite of citing consistent, regular leadership experience over that period. I sought the award so I could put it on my resume as evidence of my leadership ability so I could a) pay for health benefits for my son who needs them b) stay gainfully employed c) increase my options in the event of unemployment….
3. Press releases we sent to the newspapers on our receipt of the award were meant to not only reward the volunteers publicly, they were to generate more interest in our organization (funding and volunteers) and to help us expand our efforts to areas of our mission that are hitherto inactive. Due to lack of help and money.
4. That my motive was not self-aggrandizement. It was to build crediblity for our organization, increase my abilty to provide for my family, and grow our ability to do good as an organization.
5. I explained that seeking power and recognition to do greater good is fine provided motives are pure…
6. That I sent someone else to receive the award at this big conference as it was not about me.
I am not sure if he bought my arguments, but I thought I would throw this question out to you here.
Quote:Have I lost my reward from God because I sought this award for our organization and was recognized for it by men and women?The celebrities are the best example of this phenomenon. SD, I don’t think you have lost your reward. I think we could make a very harsh interpretation of the scripture you cited as a starting point for an argument in that direction, but I think such an argument would be too hasty and not nuanced enough. Note that the Lord says “take heed”, not “just forget about any thought of a reward in heaven”. I think you have as many rewards in Heaven waiting for you as you have good intentions, and I think among your motivations for service you have many good intentions.
Regards, Willhe
If your reward is the satisfaction of having done good to help others, then you have your reward even if you don’t have a trophy for it. From the bit I have come to know you, you see the helpfulness of the trophy (as you outlined), but even if you never got one you would still be doing what you do. I believe some of the wisest, happiest men, are those with the fewest early possessions. He sounds like good company. Here’s the gospel according to Dande48: If you do good in hopes of a reward (in this life or the world to come), your desires are still self-interested. The purest good a man can do, is done for the peace and happiness of others. There’s not much of a difference between seeking reward and recognition from God, and seeking it from our fellow man. Nevertheless, it is always better to do good, no matter where our hearts may lie.
If you’re worried about losing your reward from God, stop worrying about it. Do good. Be happy.
1) The key phrase in the verse is, “to be seen of them (by others)”. This describes a motive. Is one of your motives to be noticed by others – and, through that recognition, to be rewarded for it (even if only by being praised)?
If so, when you receive that praise or reward, you literally “have YOUR reward”. If not, then any recognition or reward you receive is not YOUR reward – it is someone else’s reward to you. If you start getting recognition or any other reward and start changing what you do in order to get more recognition or reward, then, at that point, you have started acting “to be seen of them”.
This is important, since receiving praise and being rewarded by other humans can be addictive. Self-reflection is critical as an on-going process.
2) I interpret the second part of the verse to say that God isn’t going to reward you for something you did to receive a reward from others.
That makes total sense. You have your reward (the one that motivated your actions), so why should God give you another reward, as well?
3) It appears to me that the New Testament view of divine reward is personal improvement / eternal progression / gracious reward despite not deserving it / etc. It is a pursuit of true repentance (positive change). Framed differently, your divine reward is who you become – becoming more Christ-like / godly. Other people can’t give that to you, and doing things to get their praise is much more a devilish approach (“Give me the glory!”) than a godly approach (“The glory be thine.”)
Sounds like a pretty fine line. I don’t see why you can’t get reward from people and God for the same act of goodness — when my kids did good things at school, we would also reward them at home to make the behavior continue even though they got praise from their teachers. I also don’t think God will ration out reward, because he wants people to do good things. Acknowledegment for a job well done from multiple sources helps motivate others and encourage continuance of the behavior. When people receive awards at my work, I will go out of my way to also give my congratulations…is there a shortage of recognition and acknolwedgement that justifies rationing it? Also, the church does evangelize its own good works on earth — our Ward had our name up on a billboard when we renovated a a charity’s offices recently. I mentioned the whole “being seen of men” scripture, and someone said “it’s fine for organizations to seek recognition, but not individuals”.
Now, I agree that we shouldn’t go after reward to the point we are seeking that only — leaving behind the purity of our mission, losing our inner peace because we weren’t recognized, and taking extreme, unethical measures just to get noticed….at all costs, and attaching no importance to the self-satisfaction that comes from reflecting on something we did for its own sake. Or being better than thou because we got the award…all that isn’t healthy for the spirit.
And I also agree that certain personality types SHOULD NOT BE REWARDED for their behavior that is somehow “good” beyond the first bit of recognition they get. For example, people with narcissitic personality disorder tend to start beating up on people who are in awe with them as a result of their boasting and other attributes they heartily put out there for others. I’ve seen it over and over again. When they win an award have some extraordinary achievement, it’s destructive to you, the complement-giver to praise them for it. I won’t go into details as to why this dynamic happens, but I’ve seen it a few times in my lifetime.
Upon reflection, you could argue that Christ was getting at the pharisees who wore their religion literally on their sleeve, ostentatiously to show the world how pious they are. In fact, there is an element of insincerity about it as Christ called them hypocrites.
Quote:And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Also, consider Ghandi — remember how he stood up the British Empire? He made a massive granstand of the whole thing, and did a long march to the Indian Ocean where he would make salt. All that was to attract attention to the good he was doing in helping India gain its indpenendence, gain supporters and gather positive opinion from the international press. There are times our good works have very little impact unless we evangalize them to the world.
For me, what matters is the motive. I don’t think Ghandi ever did anything to promote himself personally — his use of the press, and recognition of his movement’s efforts were aimed at an overarching pure goal — independence of the Indian people from a rather tyrannical Britain at the time.
Is there ever a time when the rewards of men are actually appropriate and more desirable than rewards from God?SilentDawning wrote:
Upon reflection, you could argue that Christ was getting at the pharisees who wore their religion literally on their sleeve, ostentatiously to show the world how pious they are. In fact, there is an element of insincerity about it as Christ called them hypocrites.
Yes, I agree SD. Moderation seems to be the key.
Quote:You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven
There is a time and a place for getting noticed but it should not become the motivation in and of itself and drown out the foundational principles. Otherwise it just becomes shallow, all flash and no substance. This is especially true in the world of charity and spiritual matters. If I do my charitable donation/spiritual activity as a way to aggrandize myself then that motivation will prevent me from experiencing selfless giving. That motivation, if taken to extremes, could prevent me from experiencing selflessness generally and ever graduating to a less egoist mindset.
Good point about the Candle on the hill — it demonstrates that we should let others know of our good works, and that there are good outcomes associated with letting others know. I think this underscores the importance of NOT looking at the scriptures in isolation. SWK indicated in the Miracle of Forgiveness that a woman was wrecked about the fact that one of our scriptures says there is no forgiveness for adultery — and she had committed it. He then pointed out other scriptures that indicated there WAS in fact forgiveness for adultery. He indicated that you have to look at all the available scripture and then draw your conclusions about what they mean.
From this set of scriptures above, it’s clear that you shouldn’t go public with religious observances when your motive is to show people who righteous you are — when in fact, you aren’t righteous or sincere in your observances. From a community service perspective, the stories of Al Capone and other gangsters volunteering at soup kitchens for their public image, while being heavily involved in the underworld of crime is an example. There is no sincerity in that. The scriptures indicate the giving of money for religious purposes should be done anonymously (alms). But that other good works are quite appropriate to make visible for the glory of God.
Does the church ever make public its good works when it doesn’t have to?
Quote:I don’t see why you can’t get reward from people and God for the same act of goodness.
I didn’t say you can’t. Seriously, I didn’t say that – but changing what I said to what you wrote above is a natural, easy thing to do. Re-read what I wrote. I think you will see that what you wrote isn’t there.
Sure, the Church publicizes some things it does prior to doing them or as they are being done – and, as an organization, it has its reward in those cases. There are times when it is important, for various reasons, to do so – and I’m not saying all things should be done in secret. I’m just saying the verse in question says things done openly “to be seen of them” have their own reward and, therefore, won’t be rewarded additionally by God.
Finally, the verse does NOT say things done to be seen by others are punished or condemned in any way by God. It doesn’t say we never should do things to be seen by others. It just says we won’t be rewarded by God for doing them for that motivation. It says that the best way to do something is simply because we should do it and for no other reason.
People screw up this verse in multiple ways, and thinking God punishes people for doing good things openly or for selfish reasons is one of those ways.
Not to be obtuse but… What reward are you looking for from god?
Not sure what kind of reward — what kind of reward do the scriptures promise from God? That kind of reward. To be like him – at least, that is what is stated in the passages from which the quote is taken. If that is the reward, it is interesting to contemplate what that says about how God “gives his alms”.
To be like god… and how much time does god spend thinking about what reward god will receive from god? 
Could the reward be freedom from the quest of chasing after rewards?
You could argue that the quest is over once you receive the reward but what happens when you lose all desire to chase reward? Do you go to outer darkness or is that how you become god?
nibbler wrote:
To be like god… and how much time does god spend thinking about what reward god will receive from god?Could the reward be freedom from the quest of chasing after rewards?
You could argue that the quest is over once you receive the reward but what happens when you lose all desire to chase reward? Do you go to outer darkness or is that how you become god?
That’s pretty meta, Nibbler. And also a good point. I think if you’re going to become like God by doing good, you need a better reason than becoming like God. For myself, I figure, do good and let God work out the details. If there’s a life after this one, whether I’m brought to heaven or condemned to hell, I’m going to keep doing good. If this life is all there is, I’m set on dying with a smile. Lasting peace and happiness is the true reward, and once I have it, I’m going to keep on doing what peaceful, happy people do.
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