There's no question that all of us need to be recognized and rewarded for good and faithful service. The Bible has lots to say about rewards and recognition.

 

However, we Christians need to be focused on eternal rewards and recognition. If you work strictly for people's recognition and reward, let me tell you what it could do to you. 

 

First, when you don't get the recognition you think you deserve, it can easily cause you to give up and just get by without giving your best effort. Lots of employees have that kind of attitude toward their jobs. Since no one ever seems to appreciate them, they just get along by doing the minimum they have to do. And they don't bother to go the extra mile or try to work with excellence.

 

Some, on the other hand, need people's recognition so badly that they work all the harder, killing themselves trying to get someone to say, "You're doing a good job." And they are easily burned out and highly frustrated to discover that extra work doesn't always bring the recognition they want.

 

Do you want to have your work recognized in order to get a promotion or more money or prestige? Perhaps it's greed or materialism or a desire for power that is causing you to work so hard for earthly recognition and reward. 

 

As Christians in the marketplace, we have to check up on our motives. Colossians 3 tells us that our upper level manager is Jesus Christ, and if he is the one whose approval we seek, we will be motivated by our deep desire to please God, and our driving ambition to hear him say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

 

If you're driven by the need for earthly recognition, I'm sure you already realize that you can never get enough. It's hard to get and you always want more. That can cause your performance to be erratic. Earthly recognition comes and goes; it's very elusive. 

 

What a difference it makes when we understand that people's rewards and recognition are nice, but they're not essential. Yes, I'm a strong believer that managers and organizations should do a good job of recognizing and rewarding their employees. It's the right thing to do and it makes for better employees. But it just doesn't always happen. What a freedom it is to know that God is going to reward us for work well done. It really frees you from the need for earthly recognition and reward.