Well done

I always loved hearing my Dad say “good job son”. I knew I had met his approval. A good feeling for sure. There’s nothing wrong with the desire to do good or the joy you feel in your heart that follows. The tricky part for me is doing the deeds for the Lord and his glory and not so I can hear people say “good job”. Why is it so important for us to get validation from other people who are just like us rather than just doing good things to please our Heavenly Father? Think about this. When your at work, who do want to please more? The person next to you doing the same thing, or the boss who can reward your work? Matthew 6:1-6 tells us that if we do righteous acts to be seen by people then the Heavenly Father will not reward us.

Our righteous acts, like giving or teaching or witnessing or encouraging, could not be done without God first giving us the ability and second the desire to do it. It is all about him! He is the one who should get the glory for any good thing! When we seek the approval of people, their approval is our reward. Now I don’t know what kind of reward God gives. He is the creator of the cosmos so I’m guessing that his reward would be much greater than anything mankind could come up with and besides, wouldn’t it be reward enough to just hear these words from Jesus as we enter Heaven: Well done my good and faithful servant! Listen, there’s nothing wrong with having a good feeling about a job well done, but we need to remember that we could never do it if it wasn’t by God’s grace and provision. Let’s give credit where credit is due and just do the work for the glory of God!!

Father, we know that all good things come from you. It would be impossible for us to do anything good without you!! Thank you for all you do through your saints. Teach us to live in humble obedience for your names sake!

Have a blessed day and be a blessing to someone who needs it today!