Titus 2:7 –
And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.
Being a “guy” I so wanted to point out the first few verses of this chapter, but this one caught my eye. “Works”, or acts which are done in obedience to God’s word, will never move a person’s status up in heaven. Yes some may say you are collecting “treasures in heaven”, but “works” will never change your salvation status. One should do “works” in obedience and not with any expectation of a reward. Sure God may bless you along the way, but once you “expect” that blessing … that’s when God tends to shy away from giving any.
The other thing I mentioned is the “treasures in heaven,” think about this a bit. First we always tend to put earthly values on what heaven will be like, do you really think “treasures” will even matter? I mean who cares how much you have when you get to hang with God … what more could you ever want. We should be doing good “works” for the glory of God and not for some other underlying reason.
Now the second part about everything you do reflecting integrity, this is very important also. Think about mission trips, when you are working your tail off and the people you are helping are just watching. The human response would be to complain, but that would violate our reflecting the teachings of Jesus. We should do the work with joy and not worry about how others respond. If it’s something that is bothering you inside, do something radical and on your “break” help them directly … get them a drink or something to eat. Don’t do this with any other motive than to help them … doing it as an “in your face” move is again wrong. You are there to show your love and willingness to serve them. If you are there for brownie points from God, might as well just head home.
Our lives are reflections of our hearts, and we can quickly get back to yesterday’s discussion of ones thoughts and their purity. Keep your motivation to service and works pure so not to corrupt their results in the lives of others. Believe me one of the most damaging part of mission work is to have someone complain or say something wrong. Days or weeks of trust that has been built by a team is quickly dashed because of one comment or act. You have to realize doing “works” places you under a microscope since most don’t understand why someone would do things like this for free and on their days off. Because of this they look for anything to discredit your work. So focus your will on God’s will and not your selfish ambitions!