Pay Day
Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Matthew 6:2
In Full – Is this what you want? Full paid. Getting all that is due. Don’t be so quick to say, “Oh, no. I’m willing to wait.” That response misunderstands Jesus’ comment. Jesus is not saying that we should work without the expectation of reward. Human beings have a built-in design program that motivates us for recognition and reward. God made it that way. Jesus’ comment is not about denying ourselves the reward due. It is about accepting less than what God intends. What Jesus says is that those who satisfy themselves with the rewards offered in this world have made a terrible mistake. Their accounts are fully paid here. Therefore, they have nothing left to draw on later.
The phrase, “in full”, is really included in the verb (apechei). We would understand it better with the choppy English, “they have fully satisfied their reward.” In other words, what they get now closes the account from God’s perspective. They have decided to take their earnings now. The fame, wealth, power and presence they accept has satisfied the debt. Nothing more is due.
This is a chilling commentary on the lifestyle of the rich and famous – and on the lifestyle of anyone who desires to be rich and famous. God grants such rewards (did you think it was accidental or good fortune). God is sovereign. No one becomes rich and famous without the permissive will of God. But the saddest and most terrifying consequence of this fulfilled desire is that the bank account is emptied here and now. God delivers. He honors the way that the world is constructed. Those who seek self-glorification, self-fulfillment and self-protection can have every expectation that they will reach their goals. But there will be nothing left over when the pine box fills the hole. They got what they wanted. They just didn’t see how short-changed their lives really were.
We Christians are a fickle lot. We say that we want Kingdom accounts. We even occasionally accept present sacrifices to bring about redemptive history. But we are just as likely to be tempted by the allure of reward now. We do not see that the accounts are not transferable. God says, “I can pay you now, or I can pay you later, but don’t think you can get paid twice.” We need to pay more attention to Abraham. God promised him amazing things, but not a single one was to be realized in his lifetime. All the reward came after he died.
Do you have that perspective about the payment due you? Are you spending your life here and now with the intention of receiving what’s due much later? Or are you acting as though God should reconcile the accounts today?
