Grace and peace, Saints.

A reader sent me the following email:

“I am 42 years old, never been married and never find a need for one and I work very hard but never get credit for my effect (promotions keep passing me by) and find it difficult to make my mind up.  I have been told to go for prayers.”

Many of us feel we don’t get the proper credit for our efforts or receive the recognition or gratitude we think we deserve.  And most of the time, our feelings are justified.  It is not wrong for us to feel this way, but it can be harmful for us spiritually.  One of Satan’s favorite ways to discourage us is to cause those from whom we most want or need appreciation to withhold that from us.

I have a personal testimony of this.  In my post, “Please, Just Say Thank You,” I tell of an incident that centered on the lack of appreciation I have experienced in my marriage.  When we don’t get the gratitude, laud, or appreciation we think we deserve or have earned, it could be devastating to our feelings of self-worth.  If we are not careful, those feelings can build up inside us until they reach a point where they either break us or we break something.  This is not good.

It is a good thing when people appreciate us for what we do: for the extra effort we give, for the overtime we put in, or for the sacrifices that we make.  But we should understand that in this age of apostasy, genuine gratitude will be hard to come by.  The Bible says that in the last days men would be “unthankful” (2 Timothy 3:2).  The farther a person is from God, the less grateful that person will be.  Saints, we are in those last days.  Often the only thanks we ever get is knowing that something needed to be done and we did it.  And the only person who will tell us “thanks” for what we do will be ourselves.

At the end of the day, it comes down to why we do what we do.  To do a thing because we want others to appreciate us is to do it for a selfish reason.  To do a thing because it needs to be done, however, is to do it for an unselfish reason.

It’s nice to be appreciated, but we should not do things expecting praise.  The Bible says:

“Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ: Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”

Ephesians 6:6

Though Paul uses the word servant, he wrote this to the church at Ephesus.  So it applies to all Christians.  As Christians, we ought to do things because Jesus wants us to.  We should do the will of God.  And we should do it “from the heart,” meaning that we do the will of God because we want to.  “What is the will of God in this matter?” you may ask.  I believe this verse speaks most directly to this:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

Galatians 6:9,10

The will of God is that we do good unto all men.  “All” means everybody: that includes our husbands.  That includes our wives.  That includes our children.  That includes our in-laws. That includes our friends.  That includes our enemies.  That includes our neighbors.  And that most certainly includes our bosses. 

Notice that our well doing is not conditional: that is, it is not contingent upon whether or not the beneficiaries of our well doing appreciate it.  We are to do well—period.  

Is it good to be the best you can be on your job, even though you always get passed over for promotion?  You bet it is: so keep on doing good.  Is it good for a husband to be there for his wife, even if she doesn’t seem to appreciate it?  You bet it is: so keep on doing good.  Is it good for a father to be there for his children, even if they don’t seem to care?You bet it is: so keep on doing good.  Is it good for a wife to prepare tasty meals for her family, even though her family doesn’t seem to notice the difference between that delicious pork roast you cooked for dinner and a boloney sandwich?  You bet it is: so keep on doing good.  Is it good for you to be good to your neighbors, even though your neighbors are always evil towards you?  You bet it is: so keep on doing good.  Is it good for you to respect your parents, even though your parents don’t always respect you?  You bet is is: so keep on doing good.  Is it good to be a good student, even if no one seems to care whether you get A’s and B’s or C’s and D’s?  You bet it is: so keep on doing good.

Now, God understands that we will eventually get tired of this.  We will get weary of doing well, no matter how much we want to do His will.  What God is saying is that we should not let our weariness get the best of us.  We should keep on doing well, even though we are weary.  If it is our will to do His will, God will always give us the strength to keep on keeping on.

If we do this thing, God will reward us “in due season.”  God knows how hard it is to keep doing good when seemingly everyone around us revels in doing evil.  God knows how hard it is to keep doing good when even our best efforts often go unappreciated.  So He gives us hope.  He tells us that if we continue in well doing, there is a reward waiting for us. 

The Bible says that all things have an end.  The days of ingratitude are numbered.  There will come a day when we will reap the reward of our steadfastness.  There will come a day when we will reap the reward of our faithfulness.  There will come a day when we will reap the reward of our patience.  And there will come a day when we will reap the reward of our well doing.  But that day will come “in due season.”  It will come when God says so.

So, if it seems like you have been giving it your all and it feels like no one notices or even cares, I want you to know that someone does care.  Jesus cares.  And believe me, at the end of the day, He is the only one who really matters.

P.S. You don’t have to be a Christian to do the will of God, but the only way to stay in the will of God is to know the will of God.  And the only way to know the will of God is to know He whom God sent: the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Bible says that no man knows God except the Son whom He has sent.  The only way to truly know God is to make Jesus your personal Savior.  Why don’t you make Jesus your Savior today?  (Click here.)

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man