We get hung up when we see “rewards” as opposed to “God’s Glory.” If someone does something for a reward, we assume it must be selfish, self serving & therefore not glorifying to God. But the Bible teaches that godly reward and God’s glory are not mutually exclusive. They flow from each other or, as John Piper puts it, deeds & rewards in God’s kingdom are "organically related.”
In other words when we do something that honors God & are rewarded for it, God is even more glorified when the reward is given because the deed & reward are, by nature, glorifying to God.
For example, you cannot love out of selfish motives, not if it’s pure, biblical love. But we are promised a “reward” for loving (Luke 6:35). You see, God wants us to follow Him not out of duty, & He would rather we follow Him out of more than just obedience. He wants us to follow Him out of delight. And when we do so, we are rewarded with more of Him.
In other words, there are two types of rewards in scripture: pure “reward” flowing from pure motives and sinful “reward” flowing from selfish motives (as in a mercenary doing something good simply to be paid).
Let me give you an example from my wedding anniversary. Let’s say I buy Judi a dozen roses, chocolates & take her out to dinner. While I’m at dinner, she asks me, “Why did you do this?” If I say, “ I did it because I’m supposed to . . . it’s my duty to appreciate you. I must be unselfish.”
How do you think that would make her feel? It would not mean much would it? But if I said, “Because I’m absolutely in love with you & it’s delightful to be your husband!” she would beam. And a pure reward would follow: Deeper love. Pure love leads to the reward of more pure love. And there’s nothing wrong with pursuing that & wanting it. Some rewards are pure & are purely pursued.
One of the rewards of Heaven, the top reward as a matter of fact, is intimacy with God. That is the highest pleasure of Heaven. The rewards of possessions & power also will be organically related to this intimacy.
In other words, the possessions will be pure possessions & have no selfishness attached to them. My bible is a pure possession. I enjoy it because it gives me intimacy with God. Our power, possessions & pleasure will be pure in Heaven. They will stimulate us to the glory of God. C.S. Lewis writes about this in his excellent essay "The Weight of Glory."
Read the following quote carefully because it accurately & profoundly represents biblical truth on this subject. "The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves & to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ, and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire.
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good & earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant & the stoics & is no part of the Christian faith.
Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward & the staggering nature of rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink & sex & ambition when infinite joy is offered us. Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
A great, classic book on this topic is John Piper’s "Desiring God." I highly recommend you read it. It will change your life! It did mine!
Check out my first post on this topic What's in it for God? Part 1
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