Matthew 6:16-18<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
A straightforward\u00a0principle here:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Simply put, don\u2019t do good things in order to garner praise from others. \u00a0Do them because they\u2019re good things.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
A corollary principle, if you really must think about extrinsic pay-offs:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our Father in Heaven is watching. \u00a0You won\u2019t miss out on a reward.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s a reward for which you must have trust, or faith, because it won\u2019t necessarily come immediately. \u00a0There won\u2019t be an instant pay-off, in the form of admiration from the opposite sex, wealth, fame, pats on the back, and\/or gratifying public praise. \u00a0For those who do their good deeds in order to receive such immediate gratification, they\u2019ll be done when they get it. \u00a0The score will be settled. \u00a0Nothing more will be owed to them. \u00a0They\u2019ll have their reward.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I suppose, as a parallel, that you could think of acting in a move and demanding your pay-off now. \u00a0So you take your $1000 check instead of the 1% of gross ticket receipts that was first offered you for the part that you played in that odd soon-to-be released\u00a0film called Star Wars<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among\u00a0the marks of maturity, I suppose, is the capacity to delay gratification in order to do better in the long term. \u00a0A young child, if he doesn\u2019t get his candy right now<\/em>, thinks it\u2019s the end of the world. \u00a0Even a slightly older child, offered an ice cream now or, alternatively, unlimited ice cream in perpetuity if she\u2019ll just wait for ten minutes, will very likely choose the immediate single scoop. \u00a0Mature people, by contrast, know that a lengthy period of vocational training, or of law or medical school, or of investing rather than consuming, will pay off handsomely in the long term.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew 6:16-18 \u00a0 A straightforward\u00a0principle here: \u00a0 Simply put, don\u2019t do good things in order to garner praise from others. \u00a0Do them because they\u2019re good things. \u00a0 A corollary principle, if you really must think about extrinsic pay-offs: \u00a0 Our Father in Heaven is watching. \u00a0You won\u2019t miss out on a reward. \u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>