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WHY DO YOU DO GOOD?Is it to LOOK good? Is it because it’s the right thing to do? Is it to get some kind of reward?You know, there are some who believe that the idea of a reward should have no place in the Christian’s life and have no bearing on the Christian’s behavior. They teach that we ought to seek to be good for goodness sake. Virtue is its own reward.But the problem with that is the fact that the Bible speaks a LOT about reward. Jesus will tell us in this passage that there IS reward. Paul would speak of a victor’s crown, John would tell us of a heavenly reward… We are told that if we stand under persecution, we will be rewarded. We are told if we give a cup of cold water in His name, we will be rewarded. We are told that if we love our enemies, we will be rewarded.To shun the idea of rewards in order for our motives to do good seem more pure - that’s the temptation, isn’t it? Oh - I don’t need a reward. I just do things...yes?...you do things --- for what? For the blessing that it is to give, rather than to receive? Well, then wait a second: isn’t that understanding and feeling of blessing a reward in and of itself? Of course it is. The idea of reward is NOT BAD.The issue isn’t whether you are doing things for applause --- it’s FOR WHOSE APPLAUSE are you setting about doing good things in this life? I want to take a good look at what Jesus is saying to us in this passage this week.