Human beings are full of expectations. Expectations about better future, career, life partner, profession and other good things attached to life. A life without an expectation is one that is uneventful, stagnated and flows with whatever is tossed at it. For man to then have expectation there has to be an investment for such expectation. Reward is the fulfilment of such expectation.
Reward, according to English scholars, is anything given in recognition of service, achievement or effort. It can also be anything dispensed as a punishment for an offence committed, to serve as deterrence. The input, action, or inaction of an individual determines his or her reward. For a lazy person, his reward would be lack, poverty, penury, shame and backwardness, while on the other hand, a diligent person would have his hands full of plenty, fulfilment, success, prosperity and goodluck. Prov. 12:24.
Faithful is the act of being upright, loyal and steadfast. Faithfulness is a virtue that is important for man to climb the ladder of success. The faithful are after God’s heart, He protects them as it is written in Psalms 31:23, “the Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full”. Also, Psalms 97:10 states that God guards the lives ofhis faithful ones and delivers them from the wicked. The ways and acts of the faithful ones are also protected.
Who is then a servant?
A servant is someone that serves a master. You are not a servant if you do not have a master. According to the Bible, servants are expected to obey their masters with sincerity, Ephesians 6:5. The servant is not expected to serve two masters, Matt. 6:24; they are expected to be in total subject to their masters notwithstanding whether the master is good or wicked, I Peter 2:18-21;they are expected to do endure and tolerate. Servant is not in any position to argue, he must remain submissive, Titus 2:9, 3:1.
Having lay this foundation, for any servant, there is surely an expectation from his service to his master. The deed of every servant will determine his reward, irrespective of his expectations. Although the world has gone pass the era of slavery and servitude, however wages and salaries now replaced servitude. A worker has exclusive right to his wages without unnecessary conditions attached to it. We live in a capitalist world and the urge to maximize profit is a leading motivation that moves economy. In spite this, it is an aberration to deny workers their salaries to satisfy this urge for profit maximization.
For Christian employer of labour, paying staff their salary should be a priority because the survival of any business depends on how motivating workers are. Industrial courts are filled with litigations connected to denial of wages and salaries. Christian business owners and employers of labour must therefore ensure that they lead by example by making it an habit to promptly pay the salaries of their workers.
God commands in Deuteronomy 24:14-15- “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the Lord and it become sin in you.” Denying your workers their wages is a grievous sin before God, you are to therefore repent and amend your ways.
Also as we all await the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth, so are we all expecting to get the reward of our deeds. Jesus Christ in Rev. 22:12 said, “and, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
For us all, we have been endowed with talents, gifts and virtues that are expected to impact our world and ultimately draw souls to the kingdom. We are expected to multiply these talents to the glory of God, Matt. 25:14-23. The failure to multiply these talents is better imagined than experienced, Matt.25:24-30.
We are responsible for the way and manner we lead our lives on earth. As sojourners, we must not lose sight of the fact that a day would come that we would return home. What would therefore be the report we give to our maker? Our report will determine our reward. As Christians this must be utmost in our mind as we live in this wicked and lust-filled world.
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