Dear Christian friends:

Most everyone does good work. Even crooks and robbers do good to one another and help one another. We often find robbers and crooks at work in church. You can't judge about good work if it is truly a good work. Only God can judge.

God is more interested in why you do a good work and how you do it. What is your reason for doing a good work? Why do you do it? Our text helps us. Not what you do but how and why:


We are pulled to work and serve by various motives. Explain motive = motor from Greek language. Pride is one motor. Often greed is a motor. These motors are not good.

Love is the only motive that pleases God. (verse 9) Love sincerely and love for God and love for man. It does not give praise and glory to God if we work and serve only because of duty and law and force. That insults God and harms us.

Why do you go to church? Why do you give for church? Why do you sing in the choir? Why do I preach? Why do I help the poor and needy? It is very important for us to ask "Why?"

If you have the wrong reason or motive pulling you, your work is no good, no matter how great and wonderful you think it is. God does not think so.

Our text shows that only service with love will do, verse 8: "If you share, be generous. If you manage anything, do it eagerly. If you help people in need, do it cheerfully." Paul says our service to God and one another should be generous, eager, and cheerful.

Only those who truly love God and people can serve like that. Others may serve and do their duty, but they do it with pride or with bitterness or with complaint and stinginess.

The church member who earns $100. a week and gives only $1.00 or maybe $2.00 for church. Is he generous? Is he eager? Is he a cheerful giver? Does he really love God?

True, not all church members who give generously give with love. Some may give 10%, tithe, because they feel thats law and duty and it makes them feel proud and better than others. So they are very exact and fussy to give 10% not one penny more or less. While they give large offerings they do not please God.

You remember the Bible story of Cain and Abel, the first two sons of Adam and Eve. We read in the Bible both of them prepared a nice offering for God. Can brought some nice beautiful fruits which he grew, (He was a farmer) and offered the beautiful fruits to God. Abel was a shepherd and he searched in his flock and found a beautiful healthy sheep and offered it to God.

Both men offered beautiful, rich gifts to God. But we read God was pleased with Abel's offering but displeased with Cain's. Why? Because Cain offered without love to God. So, also, all our offerings and service to God and men should be with love to God in thankfulness and praise.

But you say, How can we love God that is very hard. You are right. By our own thinking and strength we cannot love God or people. Paul says, "Thee natural mind is enmity against God." (Romans 8:7) Only when God finds us and calls us to be sorry and change. Only when God offers us His love and forgiveness through Jesus, His Son, only then can we began to change and love Him.

John says in 1 John 4:10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." We love Him because He first loved us and gave His Son to die for us. Only by seeing God's great love in Jesus can we receive of His love to love again and serve Him with love.

That is why we need to come to the Lord's Supper often and to church and read and study His word about Jesus the Savior. Then His love will come to us and work in us and serve through us, and our offerings and service will be pleasing to Him.

Then we will be able to do what Paul says in the last part of our text here. May God give us His love each day through Jesus.

Amen.