God's Rewards for Doing Good and Loyalty

 Sometimes in life we think that we need to look out for ourselves because we might miss out if we don't. When this thought comes to us, it is often at the expense of other people. We think that we need take advantage of a situation, even if it will hurt the other person. This urge can keep us from doing good and being loyal to others, because we are thinking in a selfish way. This is always wrong when it hurts other people.

David had come to realize this truth, but King Saul never learned it. David had two chance to kill Saul, but he didn't because Saul was God's anointed one, and David was going to stay loyal to him, even though he was trying to kill David. (I Samuel 26:23) After the second time David spared Saul's life, he told Saul that the Lord has His own reward for doing good and for being loyal. That is why David did not kill him and remained loyal. We would all do well to wait to receive God's rewards from being good and loyal.

Satan tempts us to sin in various ways all of the time. Many times he does this by trying to get us to be selfish. He uses our flesh to tell us that we can get all that we will ever need if we will cheat or steal or take it from others in one way or another. The problem is that God can't bless the sin of selfishness. We need to resist Satan and do what is good, so we can receive God's reward. His reward is always better than anything we could have done for ourselves.

Also, we need to remain loyal to our leaders and friends. God values loyalty. Sometimes we are tempted to stop supporting them because of something they have done to us. We think we need to get back at them in some way. If we do that, we are sinking to the same sin they committed against us. Two wrongs don't make a right. We need to stay loyal, let the Lord punish them as He sees fit, and depend on God to give us the reward of being loyal. When we do that we show the character of Christ to everyone around us.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 27-31.