Looking For The Pay Off?

27 May

“Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work. I live by that. You grind hard so you can play hard. At the end of the day, you put all the work in, and eventually it’ll pay off. It could be in a year, it could be in 30 years. Eventually, your hard work will pay off.”  ~ Kevin Hart

There seem to be two large groups of people:  those who believe in and look for immediate gratification and those who believe in the long run.  People who seek immediate gratification generally appear to be quite selfish.  They are into things for themselves.  They want quick and easy reward.  They don’t have time for others because they are too busy chasing that immediate pay out.

Those who are in things for the long haul, however, have an entirely different philosophy.  They believe that there will be a pay off some time or other in their lives and they keep on plugging while hoping for it.  In the process, they are also more aware of other people in their lives as well as the needs and concerns of others.  They are more prone to helping others knowing that is the right thing to do.  They find reward helping others as well.

Hart reminds us that “everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work.”  I would reword that slightly and remind us that everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to do the work.  That sounds a bit ludicrous on the surface but might be more true than you think.

There are “quick and easy” Christians out there who are looking for immediate reward.  Who else do you think Jesus was talking about in His parable of the seed?  They are the seed that fell on the path or among brambles.  If their reward doesn’t come immediately, they tend to wither and turn to something else.

Being a Christian is a long haul proposition.  Yes, rewards might come our way in this life.  If they do, consider them bonuses.  They should not be necessary, though, to our living of the faith.  We should be looking to the end of it all.  Our goal is eternity with God not reward this day.  If we keep our priorities clear, it will be easier to take up our responsibility and follow the Lord faithfully.

FAITH ACTION:  Work hard at living the faith today, confident that the Lord will reward you in His time.