A Remote Control With New Batteries

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The Word of God tells us in countless places that we are to live with a view toward everlasting consequences. God tells us that our motivation in this should be hunger for blessing from Him.

The moralistic philosopher Kant tried to teach us that a deed is not really moral unless it is done from a sense of raw duty, with no thought of reward. Unfortunately, this false teaching has permeated the so-called conservative wing of the Church. A better name for this attitude might be neo-Stoic. Afraid of pleasure, afraid of joy, afraid of glory, afraid of reward, such unfortunates are ultimately afraid of their Bibles.

Of course they justify their attitude by the pervasive worldliness in the other sectors of Church, and they are actually quite right about this. Great portions of the modern Church are driven by thoughts of reward, as all creatures actually must be, but their sin is that they have settled for paltry rewards—the praise of men, the comforts of mammon, and the flattery that only a full belly and a remote control with new batteries can provide.

So what must we do?—we must seek the blessing of God. At His right hand is an everlasting river of pleasure. Do we seek His blessing in some hyper-spiritual fashion, showing contempt for earthly blessings? Not a bit of it—we despise worldliness, not the world. The world is not our master, but when we listen rightly to our master, our God in heaven, that same world is converted to our use and made a faithful servant. This is the word of God—but always beware of subtleties.

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