Thirty-one
Recognition and Rewards
“You did not mention me in your newsletter. I did as
much as anyone else.”
No question, I had inadvertently left his name out.
I apologized and righted the slight during the
announcements the very next Sunday morning. But
he was not there to hear it. In fact, I have not seen him
since.
There is something in my flesh that loves to be
noticed and admired. I want to be appreciated,
talked about, lifted up, and applauded. How I enjoy
recognition. The flesh cries out for it, yet, God’s glory
will not be shared. So many of us have fallen so very
far when we were so very well known.
The gospel preacher, as anyone else, must face the
desire (need even) to be noticed and recognized. Some
will say these are normal needs and perfectly
acceptable. In any case, a great deal of energy goes
into recognizing people’s efforts and contributions.
What recognition does the servant deserve? We are
called to be servants of Jesus; Paul referred to himself
as “a slave of Jesus.” It is biblically legitimate to refer
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Recognition and Rewards
to all Christians as “slaves of Christ.” (see Ephesians
6:6) What kind of recognition is due the slave?
There were some religious people of Jesus’ day
who liked to be noticed. They wore special garments
that marked them as religious people. They made long
prayers in public, and Jesus said, “They have received
their reward in full” (Matthew 6:5). Not much of a
reward, is it? —to be honored by people for appearance
and performance. Preachers of the gospel must not
relish dressing in religious garments and esteeming the
“salutations in the market place”.
Praise and adulation sought from people seem so
unbecoming the gospel minister. I do not see in
Scripture that we are called to seek attention and
recognition. Paul said that apostles had “become the
scum of the earth, the refuse of the world” (1
Corinthians 4:13). Paul may well have had a need for
recognition but he saw it for what it was—something
inconsistent with servant-hood. Pastors, as well as
apostles, may have the same view of themselves. The
call to be a slave of Jesus is the highest of callings and
is its own reward.
People can be manipulated because of their desire
for attention and recognition. At Miller Avenue I
attempt to avoid using recognition processes in such
ways. However, people will be recognized in the
normal course of things without intentional promotion.
Service done in the name of Jesus and for His glory
may, in fact, be recognized. We know this by looking
at the history of the Church. Many faithful men and
women are yet recognized for their service to Christ,
long after their death. Certainly this is the exception
rather than the rule. Most Christians live out their
entire lives in obscurity. Many Christians have labored
long years in mission fields with little outward results.
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Their names are lost to us today and more than likely
lost to the generation that immediately followed them.
In most instances heroes of the faith (from a heavenly
point of view) were unknown during their own time
and perhaps were even despised or ignored, but they
continued to labor. I doubt these served Jesus in order
to obtain recognition or attention. The Christian worker
takes on the “easy” yoke of Jesus for the sake of Jesus
Himself and for His glory. Striving for recognition and
earthly reward is vain and in vain.
People’s need for recognition may become a
problem in the church. When a system of rewarding
service is in place, people may become confused about
why they are engaging in ministry. This may seem to
be a harsh analysis. I must admit that it has not always
been true, in my own personal experience, that
recognition processes become problematic.
The “reward and punishment” process is a
powerful one. When people are rewarded and
recognized for the time and/or money they give they
may come to depend on that. If the reward system fails
somehow, this person may feel punished. To be quite
clear, I have found some workers in the church will
“pick up their marbles and go home” if they do not
receive what they consider to be sufficient reward.
When someone begins to serve in the church I wonder
if they will continue if they are unrecognized for it.
So many of the ministries of the church are not
public. Few of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as they are
expressed, are public in their application. The ministry
of administration, helps, mercy, these and others are
largely behind- the-scene ministries where there may
be no public recognition at all. The person whose
service is done to honor God is the kind of person a
pastor appreciates working with. To make the point
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Recognition and Rewards
one more time, people who have a constant need for
attention and recognition are people to beware of,
because they will never receive enough. It must be
enough that we are counted worthy to share in the
ministry of Jesus simply for the privilege of being able
to honor our Lord with our lives.
For a few years I was not in ministry, and I found
that to serve the Lord was the one thing that I loved to
do above all things. To be able to preach the gospel, to
teach the Scripture, to serve other Christians—these
are the precious things. And whether we are recognized
is not essential. If attention and recognition come, so
be it, if it does not come, then with that we need to be
content.
Do you know what it is to be “slighted?”
How well do you like attention and recognition?
Do you feel I went too far in depreciating
recognition?