Are Christian rewards selfish?     

Are rewards selfish? If a believer receives rewards in heaven, is it selfish? Is it selfish to seek rewards as a believer? Should Christians seek rewards?

All of the above questions are basically the same, so I will lump them into one answer.

The word “reward” is used over 80 times in scripture and shows us that God provides “rewards” to some of His children. I could provide all those occurrences, but here’s a few that are pretty simple and clear;

“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” (Matt 16:27)

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.” (Rev 22:12)

Please remember that the word reward does not refer to eternal life because eternal life is a gift, not a reward. And in reference to receiving the gift of eternal life, it’s not selfish to receive a gift. A reward, on the other hand, is given for things like service, effort, faithfulness, work, and certain endeavors. It is sometimes called “wages” or “dues paid for work”. So there’s a huge difference between gift and reward, and if more believers would grasp this, it would help them tremendously.

Just so you we’re all on the same page, a person is eternally saved from the lake of fire based on God’s free gift. There is absolutely nothing a person has to do besides believing in the Son of God by faith. It is by faith alone, and no works are needed to be “saved from hell” and live forever with God.

But after a person receives the gift of eternal life (which, of course, saves them from the lake of fire), that person becomes a believer. And what that believer does, from that point until their physical death, will be judged by the Man who lived on earth like us.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (1 Cor 5:10)

So, back to the question: is it selfish of a believer to seek heavenly rewards?

It depends.

If your motive or ambition for the reward is selfish gain, then yes, that would not be according to God’s way of living. But if your motive or ambition is for the sake of God so that everyone benefits, then no, rewards are not selfish. In other words, if you’re doing something “for the good of the team”, then it isn’t self-seeking because your heart’s intent is to be obedient to God’s will so everyone will benefit.

Let’s say, for example, you’re a member of a sports team, and your goal is to win the Championship. That’s your desire. You can either practice and play for individual gain and self-recognition, or you can practice and play to help the whole team—in which every member benefits…including you. If you’re playing for individual rewards for selfish gain and putting the team second, then yes, it’s considered selfish. This is why some say there’s no “I” in the word “team”. Great team members are unselfish.

Let’s just say that a team wins a championship. They often put a microphone in front of one of the players who was very valuable to their team. When true “team players” are given that platform, they say something to the effect of, “you may be giving me this award, but this couldn’t have been accomplished without my coach, teammates, my family, and everyone else involved in the entire organization” This is a team game and I want to thank everyone else. When they’re truly sincere and give credit to others, that’s a team player who’s unselfish. That’s his mindset. That’s not selfish and that person will get rewarded.

Now apply this “team” approach to your Christian life. Are you following God’s will for your own sake or the sake of the Kingdom? Are you trying to gain “crowns” for yourself and desiring to rule and reign so you can be up on a throne, or are you living your life so that everyone in God’s family will benefit? If you’re running greedily after your reward, then it’s kind of like Balaam (Jude 1:11) and is frowned upon. But if you’re doing your best with what you’ve been given for the sake of your “Master”, then you’ll be rewarded with the joy of the Lord (Matt 25:14-30).

Is it as simple as that? Not at all. There’s more to it, but that gives you a basic understanding.

Our Greatest example

Let’s stop here briefly because we need to nip something in the bud. Many commentators and preachers will use the second verse of Hebrews 12 to say that the motivation for Jesus in that He endured the cross and despised the shame was because He looked to His reward… “the joy that was set before Him”. Here’s the verse:

“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb 12:2

Those who think He lived a life of sacrifice in that His joy was the “reward” of the throne are misguided.

That would contradict so many other scriptures in which Jesus said to put our own motives last, not first. The Lord was never selfish, or that would be a sin. The Son was already high and lifted up before He was born in Bethlehem. He didn’t come to the earth and suffer and then die on the cross with the motivation of ruling and reigning on the thrown. That wasn’t His desire. He did it because He loves you, not because He would gain the throne. He died because it was the will of the Father and His desire is that YOU would benefit. That’s what kind of Man He is.

In the above verse, the word “joy” is used. The Greek word for joy is chara. The word chara is a joy for others, not yourself. There are two basic types of joy for a believer. There is joy for yourself, and then there’s a joy for others. Joy for yourself is good, but chara joy for others is greater. We go into that more here.

The Paradox

When speaking of rewards, it’s important to know that most of His “rewards” are a glorious paradox. In other words, His greatest rewards are for self-sacrifice, not self-gain. This is one of the reasons why “martyrs” have a special place in God’s Kingdom. They sacrifice their lives for His purpose. Throughout history, martyrs “love not their lives until death” (Rev 12:11)

Does a martyr sacrifice his own life for selfish benefit? Of course not. It’s quite the opposite. A martyr sacrifices his own life for the Lord. He’s not concerned or motivated by what he will receive because he’s well, um, a living sacrifice.

So, how will obedient believers be rewarded? Scripture does mention various rewards, but does it really matter? I mean, if you’re wholeheartedly surrendered, your purpose isn’t to receive but rather give. You’re, um, a living sacrifice. The truth is God does whatever is right. It’s kind of like the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt 20:1-16). The first will be last and the last first. All reward is given by a gracious and just God and He will give reward based on “whatever is right”.