Help people more so when they are not going to repay you

Jesus said give to people who can't pay you back, and you'll get your reward in heaven. But even if you give to the poor you still gain love, admiration and respect for being a good person, so aren't you paid back either way anyway!  I believe the point is not that you will be rewarded on earth, but that most of the time giving to the poor or the needy or the sick is a thankless job. Praise does not pay the bills, nor make sure that your kids are not hungry. Paid back is never equal to the task, that’s why a person volunteers because volunteers are priceless - there would never be enough money to pay them for their work - not worthless - having no value.

We also know that “Love, admiration, respect” don’t pay the landlord for the poor unless you are a farmer and the medium of exchange is not cash. I was raised on “great will be your reward in heaven” so yes, there is a reward, but meanwhile the temple taxes need to get paid, and that’s the daily maintenance on the temple of one’s body. The point is the reward is beyond price, not an even exchange. 

We know the real reason we do good things is because we recognize that those actions make life better for everyone, including ourselves. Humans are social animals. Having social groups helps us survive. We feel the love, admiration and respect precisely because the genes that make us feel this way were selected by our environment because they contribute to the survival of our social groups. If they did not offer an advantage, they would have died out. Every nice action pays us back because we benefit when everyone in our group acts that way. We benefit because we put the group first.

Therefore, it is sad that some people feel they should behave a certain way to avoid a punishment from a god, or to gain favour with a god and get an eternal reward. Those people are not motivated by what’s good for the group, but by what’s good for themselves. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full". - Matthew 6:2 and the whole idea of being rewarded for obeying the command is, for me, a little out of left field. No true follower of Jesus does what He tells them for any reason other than gratitude for what He has already done for them.

Also gaining ‘love, admiration and respect for being a good person’ isn’t worthwhile, to me. It is just an example of fickle public opinion. I believe that the only love, admiration and respect worthy of my consideration is that which comes from God alone. Motivation is what matters. That was a problem Jesus addressed. In Mathew he talks about those hypocrites who do good things so that they will be thought of as good people. They did it so they would get love, admiration, respect etc., for their good deeds. Jesus said, they have received their reward. If you do good things all because you want love, respect etc., then you will get that, but that is all you will get.

If you do good because it is the right thing to do, you will be rewarded in heaven. There will be rewards here too - like love and respect - but that must not be the motivation for doing good. The rewards here are just a side benefit. The thing is, to do those good things even when you don't get credit, love and respect. Stay Blessed! #kishoreshintre #possessedbywritingspirit #ks1000articles #proudtobeindian