The Soul Anchor [Hebrews 6:19] - March 1, 2025
To me it is a pretty well known fact of life that our behavior can be affected by rewards. “Eat your vegetables and you get dessert,” is usually one of the first rewards programs we experience. And we learn early what to do if we want to keep the rewards coming. It’s such a popular concept that it’s associated with using our credit cards. Banks and credit card companies almost all have rewards programs to entice you to get their card. Think “What’s in your wallet? Capital One commercials. We all love that reward of getting 2 or 3 percent cash back or double airline miles or gift cards or trips to Disneyland or … WOW! I just can’t wait to go out and charge something.
We like rewards so much that we will do whatever’s necessary to get the rewards – often this means we use our credit cards. When we use our credit cards the ones giving us the rewards are happy because they know that if we are rewarded in this way, they will be rewarded with more money. So what gets rewarded gets repeated and in this case the ones giving the rewards get richer.
On a related note in our society we come to the all-important credit or FICO score. Banks and credit organizations came up with this score to show the credit worthiness of consumers. But what does that credit score really mean? Like it or not, your credit score is not an indicator of winning financially or being financially successful. All it tells you is whether you are good at borrowing money and paying it back. That’s it. How is your FICO score determined? From what I’ve been able to determine in researching this:
35% of your score is based on your debt history.
30% is based on your debt level.
15% is based on the length of time you’ve been in debt.
10% is based on new debt.
10% is based on the type of debt.
It’s all about debt! If you manage debt successfully you get a high score! Notice I didn’t say, “reduce your debt,” but “manage it,” then you are rewarded with a high credit score which allows you to (wait for it) borrow more money for, hopefully, less interest. Based on the television commercials I’ve seen on the subject, with a high credit score you can get your “credit swagger” on and intimidate sales people by flashing that high score and then demanding a lower interest rate and then force them to throw in a free potted plant to go with the new couch you just charged. I’m not sure it works that way in real life but that’s the commercial I saw. It’s interesting that in our credit industry it is the givers of rewards that get the most benefit and the people get debt. The latest statistics I could find show that the average American household carries over $9,000 of credit card debt from month to month- some reward. The current average credit card interest rate is 28.7%. That means that the average family pays $215 per month in credit card interest. Financial rewards sometimes have financial consequences as well.
How does this play out spiritually? Does God have a rewards program? In some of the last “red letter” words of the Bible, Jesus said,
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” (Revelation 22:12 NIV)
The credit card companies want us to charge for our reward. What is God looking for?
Scripturally, I believe God wants us to build a life of faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
In I Corinthians 3:11-15, Paul shows that we can spend our whole lives working for our reward.
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
Perhaps the clearest example of Jesus giving rewards can be found in what we call the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. Two of the main characters use the talents they have been given to get more and they are rewarded. One character buries his talent, earns nothing and in the end loses the talent he had – no reward for him.
Jesus said this to the man who turned his five talents into ten,
“The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
Jesus rewards program: 1) Commendation for a faithful life. 2) More responsibility in His Kingdom, 3) Sharing in the Master’s happiness.
Which rewards are you chasing in life? The best rewards will come in the afterlife.
God bless,
Pastor Frank
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