“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. …your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you…” (Matthew 6:1, 4 NKJV).
Most of the acts of service done in the name of Christ go unrecognized by people. They are done behind-the-scenes by people who are not in the “limelight.” Not every time we do something to expand the borders of the Lord’s kingdom in our world will we be recognized for doing such. Jesus said if our motivation is to garner the praise and attention of men, we are sinning. However, this does not mean that it is wrong to receive praise for right-doing or give praise to others for right-doing. We all need encouragement, affirmation and validation (Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:24-25). If we do not get it, sometimes we can get down on ourselves and start to believe what we are doing is not important. As Christians, we are in the business of building each other up, and we should not neglect opportunities to give praise where it is due.
To you who visit the lonely and the sick when no one sees, who prepare meals for those who cannot, who pray unceasingly for your brethren, who send cards, who spend hours of your time planning and organizing church functions, who wash countless dishes and clean mountains of clothes so your family can function to serve Christ, who spend hours meeting with the wayward and sin-sick when it doesn’t seem to do any good, who work hard on the job to provide for the physical needs of others, who leave tracts and speak to others about Jesus, who go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure your Bible class is the best it can be, and to all of you who do right when no one sees, “Thank you!” We thank God for you. Remember that God sees all and rewards all (Matthew 6:6, 18; Hebrews 4:13; 1 Corinthians 15:58). Let us all strive to serve Christ faithfully this week and encourage one another to do the same!
