Motives Matter

“‘Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:1 NLT

In a story titled “Runner recovering after heart attack during race” published yesterday, it was reported that a 51-year-old runner is "recovering well" after suffering a heart attack near the finish line of a Yorkshire Dales fell race. The man, whose name has not been released yet, had been taking part in the annual Pen-y-ghent race when he fell ill and collapsed on Saturday. Yorkshire Ambulance Service said the man was airlifted to Airedale General Hospital after being treated by paramedics and Cave Rescue Organisation (CRO) volunteers at the scene. Race organiser Gary Allsopp said the runner was on the mend after suffering a "rare form of heart attack" and was "sat up in bed eating Jelly Babies" by Sunday evening… Mr Allsopp praised the efforts of the volunteers who came to the man's rescue, adding: "Without them what was a stunning Mountain Running Championship with amazing records could have ended with a very tragic result."

And while the volunteers who came to the man’s rescue were certainly worthy of being praised for their actions, you can be sure that was not their motive. Their reason was to help others and their reward was simply being able to do what they were trained and called to do. Similarly, the motive of every believer for doing a “good deed” should never be to receive the praise of man as a reward for their actions but to display the goodness of God and bring glory to his Name instead. Doing good for any other reason will cause them to lose their heavenly reward which is exponentially better than any reward they could ever receive on earth. 

So, “watch out” that you don’t do “good deeds” for your own praise my friend. Everything you do should be done to lead the lost to Jesus and to bring glory to the only One who is worthy of all of our praise and honor. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that motives matter and that You see the hearts of man. Help us to do all that we do so that others will see our good works and glorify You and not us Lord. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!