¹ “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.

Matthew 6:1 NKJV

When teaching the disciples, Jesus told them that they should take heed in doing good. In this case, we see Him speaking to not doing any charitable deeds for a selfish reason like seeking glory. Should they be doing good just to be praised and glorified, Jesus warned that they would have no reward from the Lord. This causes some to wonder whether or not the motives of Christians doing good is just so that we can go to heaven.

What do you think about this? If you choose to do a good deed, are you doing it just so that you can be rewarded by the Lord? Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that there are many professed believers that do their good for this very reason. There are many people outside of the faith that think that just by doing good, they can also go to heaven. However, the Lord tells us that by faith we are saved and have everlasting life (John 3:16).

We should strive to do good becuase that is what is in our heart. Sure, the Lord will reward us but that shouldn’t be the reason why you do any good deed. Do a good deed because you feel moved to do good. Do a good because it makes you feel good. Do a good deed becase you were moved to do so in your spirit!

The Lord calls on us to love our neighbor and to minister our gifts freely as the gift we have received from Him was given freely. Always keep this in mind when you set about to do good. Never do good for some selfish reason, for example, to be praised by others.