(This is a transcript of five short radio talks)

Do you feel that you receive adequate recognition for the work you do? I can tell you that all of us need recognition and appreciation. As I travel across the country, the people I talk with who are happy in their jobs are usually the ones who tell me that their managers and their companies recognize and reward good service.

Who of us doesn't need some positive reinforcement for the work we do? It just helps you keep on keepin' on, doesn't it? I read where a pastor said we should picture all the people around us wearing big signboards that say, "Appreciate me." Psychologists tell us that all of us need a certain amount of reward and recognition from others in order to be mentally and emotionally healthy.

I probably don't have to tell you this, but the reality of most work environments is that expressions of appreciation and recognition are often few and far between. When I'm involved in management training, I try to impress upon managers the need for employee recognition and the great benefits it can reap. Yet, sad to say, it seems that most managers focus more on confronting inadequate performance than recognizing and rewarding good performance.

Well, the Bible has a lot to say about rewards and recognition, and I'd like us to look at that. As Christians in the marketplace, we actually have an advantage over our non-believing co-workers, because we work for a higher level of management than they do, and our manager has a wonderful program of recognition and reward.

In Colossians 3 we read: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Now, this is terrific news. As Christians, we can know we're going to get an award. God has a recognition and incentive program better than any employer could ever dream up, and if we perform our everyday work duties as unto Him, we're going to be recognized and rewarded by the Lord, whether our employer ever appreciates us or not.

So, the good news we start with is that God believes in recognition and reward and has a plan in place to reward us, if we work for the Lord, not for men. If you feel you're not receiving the earthly rewards you deserve, rejoice to know that you can be assured of a heavenly reward.

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Do you think it's wrong to want to be recognized and rewarded for good work? I find that the Bible is very positive about rewards and recognition. There's nothing wrong with our natural desires and needs to be appreciated.

As we saw in Colossians 3, a Christian ultimately reports to Jesus Christ, and we will give an account to Him for the quality of our work here on earth, and that includes our jobs. And the good news is, Jesus has a recognition program, and we will receive from Him a reward for work well done.

In Matthew 6 Jesus taught about rewards. He said, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

Jesus teaches us here that if we desire the rewards of men, we may miss out on God's reward. He shows us that if our motivation is to be recognized and rewarded here on earth, then that will be all the reward we'll get. He's advising us to decide whether we want God's recognition or man's, because if we desperately need man's recognition, it could cause us to miss God's rewards.

Now, let's just briefly compare earthly rewards with heavenly ones. If you're working for man's recognition, be prepared to discover that it is not fairly given. Some people get recognition they don't deserve and some who deserve it, never get it. Also, you'll notice that earthly recognition is unreliable: one day you have it, the next day it's gone. Furthermore, earthly rewards don't last very long. The money goes fast, the kudos are quickly forgotten, the bigger office and title soon lose their attraction. As hard as we may work to get earthly recognition and rewards, we will always find them to be less-than-satisfying.

However, God's rewards are eternal. Colossians 3 tells us we'll receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. We have the potential to hear Jesus Christ say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant." God's recognition will last through eternity; it will be very fairly distributed, so you can be assured that if you deserve it, you will receive it.

Just makes sense to work for heavenly recognition, doesn't it? If you're killing yourself to get earthly rewards, you're probably pretty frustrated and maybe angry. Whose recognition do you want to hear—God's or man's?

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You know, if we're working just to receive the rewards of people, then that will have some adverse effects on us and on the quality of our work. Let me ask you, how important is it to you to be recognized by people for what you do?

If you are working strictly for people's recognition and reward, let me tell you what it could do to you. First, since we aren't always fairly rewarded by people, when you don't get the recognition you think you deserve, it can easily cause you to give up and just get by without giving your best effort. Lots of employees have that kind of attitude toward their jobs. Since no one ever seems to appreciate them, they just get along by doing the minimum they have to do. And they don't bother to go the extra mile or try to work with excellence.

Some, on the other hand, need people's recognition so badly that they just work all the harder, killing themselves trying to get someone to say, "You're doing a good job." And they get burned out real easy and highly frustrated to discover that extra work doesn't bring the recognition they want.

Do you want to have your work recognized in order to get a promotion or more money or prestige? Perhaps it's greed or materialism or a desire for power that is causing you to work so hard for earthly recognition and reward. That can happen very easily.

As Christians in the marketplace, we have to go back and check up on our motives. Colossians 3 tells us that our upper level manager is Jesus Christ, and if we truly understand that we report to Him and He is the one whose approval we should seek, we will be motivated by our deep desire to please God, and our driving ambition to hear Him say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

If you're driven by the need for earthly recognition, I'm sure you already realize that you can never get enough. It's hard to get and when you get it, somehow it just doesn't meet the need like you thought it would. If that is your goal, your performance will be erratic and your motivation will be sporadic. Earthly recognition comes and goes, and it's very elusive.

I want to encourage you to put on your "forever eyes" and see the long-term picture. I know it can be frustrating to never hear anyone say, "You did a good job," or even "Thank you," and certainly there's no excuse for that kind of treatment. But you are not dependent on the praise of people when you remember that your reward is coming—and it's the best reward there is.

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Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." That's a verse we Christians in the working world need to memorize and remember daily. What a difference it makes when we understand that man's rewards and recognition are not what we need. What a freedom we have to know that God is going to reward us for work well done.

Previously we saw the problems of being focused on earthly recognition. Now, just think about the difference it would make in your life if you were truly striving for God's approval on your job. First, you would be free from that driving need to be recognized by people. Man's praise is very fickle and undependable. If we are truly seeking God's rewards, then earthly rewards will become less and less important to us.

That means you won't be destroyed when your boss doesn't show appreciation, or when someone else gets a promotion you think you deserve. You'll have that abiding peace and knowledge that God has a reward for you far greater than anything your company or manager could offer.

It means that you'll do good work day in and day out, whether it's rewarded by man or not, because you report to Jesus and He has said that you can know that you're going to get a reward from Him when your work is done with excellence.

When you're working for the Lord's approval, for His rewards, you're free from being a slave to people. You no longer have to kill yourself to try to get someone to notice you. You don't have to try to be super-person in order to impress people. When you know you're going to get your reward from the Lord, it matters little to you that people may or may not recognize your contribution. You're free from that control, that need to please others in order to be acceptable.

God has rewards to give us. They are eternal, and if we're smart, they're the ones we'll desire. They will drive our ambitions. I have a deep desire to hear my Lord say to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I know my work has to meet His standards, but I know it's possible to receive that reward. In comparison to that, who cares if people ever notice me or not.

Who and what are you working for—men's rewards or God's?

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Do you work hard and get little or no recognition for it? Is it getting more and more difficult to go to work each day because you never hear an encouraging word when you get there? Does your boss catch everything that goes wrong, but never says thank you for all the good things you do?

What I've just described is a very common occurrence in the workplace these days. Often people are not appreciated as they should be; we don't live in a fair world, do we? And yet we all need to feel appreciated.

Here's the great advantage we have as believers in the marketplace. We know that if we do our work—any work we do—for the Lord, we will receive a reward for it. That's a guarantee and a promise that cannot fail. Therefore, we must learn to work for Jesus, not for people.

What we have to do is start every day remembering who we work for. As you get dressed and leave for work each day, just say to yourself, out loud if you can, "I'm going to this job today, but I work for Jesus. I don't report to that manager; I'm not working for that company; I'm not even working for myself or for money. I'm working for Jesus today. Please help me to remember that all day long, Lord." And all through the day when the frustration starts to set in, say it to yourself all over again.

Now, if you really mean it, that will have a wonderful positive effective on your work and your attitude. First of all, if you believe you're working for Jesus, you'll work harder and better and do the best work you can. Secondly, because you're working for the praise and recognition that Jesus will give you, you are not obsessed with the need for earthly recognition. So, when your boss fails to say, "Thanks,” you hardly even notice any more because your reward is coming from the higher boss. So, that monkey—that desperate need for recognition—is off your back.

Then, if you remind yourself all through your day that you work for Jesus not for people, things won't bug you like they used to. You'll have a joyful spirit; you'll be a positive person; you'll be rejoicing always and doing all things without murmuring and complaining. You'll be living out those truths of the Bible which set us apart from people who don't know Jesus. So, you'll have a testimony and witness just by your work habits and your attitude.

And it all happened because you changed employers and started working for Jesus, not for people. What a great way to live and work! I hope you'll start today.

Mary Whelchel is founder and president of The Christian Working Woman.  This set of five talks was broadcast during the week of 4-8 October 2004.        © christianworkingwoman.org      Used with permission.      Content distributed by WorkLife.org > Used for non-profit teaching purposes only.