Earning Divine Reward
Divine rewards for giving to others have to do with the intention behind the act of giving. Therefore, those actions will earn divine rewards that are done only for God’s sake with no motive other than earning God’s pleasure.
Those whom God has blessed with money generally pay their employees and subordinate workers only the regular salary or payment. On the other hand, they happily donate large amounts of money to conferences, relief funds and big institutions. If you ask them why they do this, they will reply, ‘What we pay our employees or workers is the payment for their work. We will not get any divine reward for this payment. They have served us, and we have compensated them. What divine reward can we get from this? By paying them a salary, we have settled our matters with them. In contrast, the money we donate to institutions and community work will surely earn us divine reward!’
However, the reality of the matter is quite different. Moreover, this reply is simply an effort to conceal the real story. The matter is that deep inside his heart, every person nurses the desire that if he gives something to somebody, he should receive the reward for it in this very world. The poor man wants this recompense in the form of money. The rich man wants to be compensated in the form of social status. The hidden desire often drives rich people to donate massive amounts to various noteworthy causes.
A poor employee or worker does not have the financial capacity to make large donations. Unlike the rich, he does not have access to newspapers, who can report about him, on to the public stage, where he can garner publicity and fame. He does not have any fancy institution or a band of sycophants to welcome and cheer him. However, when a rich man donates to a famous institution or a laudable community project, he expects an impressive reward for it, in the form of being invited to preside over meetings, a prominent seat in public functions, a hearty welcome wherever he goes, a significant boost in his social status, comprehensive coverage in the media and a place among ‘the rich and the famous.
Divine rewards for giving to others have to do with the intention behind the act of giving. Therefore, the divine reward for giving is for that giving which is done only for God’s pleasure. Therefore, the divine reward is for giving done for God’s sake, in a low-profile way and away from the limelight, with no motive other than earning God’s pleasure.
If you have already obtained the reward for giving in this world, what more reward do you think you will get for it in the Hereafter?
