Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Is Your Desire for Rewards Too Weak?

Is Your Desire for Rewards Too Weak?

September 10, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - C. S. Lewis, desires, Eternal Rewards, motivations

Jesus commanded, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matt 6:20), and He promised to return with “My reward…to give to every one according to his work” (Rev 22:12). You can find the topic of eternal rewards written across Scripture, with promises of riches, wealth, mansions, and authority in the life to come.

Shouldn’t you desire those rewards?

Some people hesitate at the idea of being motivated by gaining heavenly treasure. To them, that seems too, well, selfish. And Christians shouldn’t be selfish, right?

But who came up with the idea that it’s immoral to seek God’s rewards? Surely, not God Himself! Jesus presented the possibility of gaining heavenly treasure as eminently desirable. You should want those rewards for your own good. Shouldn’t that motivate you? C. S. Lewis thought so:

If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly do hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing. I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased (Lewis, “The Weight of Glory”).

The problem for Christian discipleship is not that you act out of motivations, but that you’re motivated by lesser things, e.g., by the “mud pies” of life, instead of by greater things such as eternal rewards. And if that’s the case, your problem isn’t selfishness but being too easily pleased.

If you’re more motivated by the worldly things at hand than by the eternal things held out in His hand, instead of being too strong, your desires are too weak.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Shawn_L

by Shawn Lazar

Shawn Lazar (BTh, McGill; MA, VU Amsterdam) was the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine and Director of Publications for Grace Evangelical Society from May 2012 through June 2022. He and his wife Abby have three children. He has written several books including: Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation and Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

March 27, 2023

1 Peter–Part 06–5:1-11 Epilogue

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Ken Yates, Philippe Sterling and Bob Wilkin are winding down an excellent short study of the NT book...
March 27, 2023

Is My Testimony Common or Uncommon?

I’ve been teaching a Sunday school class entitled “Answering Your Bible Questions.” Each week I answer four or five questions. One of them was this...
March 24, 2023

1 Peter–Part 05–3:8-4:19

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin, Philippe Sterling and Ken Yates continue their study and discussion of 1 Peter. Suffering is a...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Absolutely Free, 2nd Edition $20.00 $12.00
  • Hebrews: Partners with Christ $22.00 $15.00
  • The Road to Reward, 2nd Edition $9.95 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube