Serving Others Without Expectation of Reward or Recognition
The concept of serving others without expectation of reward or recognition is rooted in biblical teachings and has been interpreted and applied in various ways throughout Christian tradition. In 1 Peter 4:9, believers are exhorted to "use hospitality one to another without grudging" or "without complaint" [1, 2]. This passage emphasizes the importance of serving others selflessly, without expectation of reward or recognition.
The idea of serving without expectation of reward is also reflected in the writings of the early Church Fathers. For instance, Augustine notes that a person should not be motivated by the hope of reward, but rather by a genuine love for God and a desire to serve Him [6]. Similarly, John Calvin argues that God desires to be worshipped and loved freely, without expectation of reward [5].
In the context of ministry and service, the Apostle Paul is a notable example of someone who served without expectation of reward or recognition. According to John Gill, Paul did not preach the Gospel for personal gain or reward, but rather out of a sense of obligation and duty [9, 11]. Paul's willingness to forego his rights and privileges as an apostle, including his right to financial support, is seen as a model for Christian service [7, 8, 4].
The Jewish tradition also emphasizes the importance of serving God and others without expectation of reward. Maimonides notes that one who occupies himself with the Torah not for its own sake, but rather for personal gain or reward, is considered to be serving for the wrong reasons [3].
The concept of serving others without expectation of reward or recognition is not limited to ministry or ecclesiastical contexts. In the view of John Chrysostom, all who support and assist those who preach the Gospel, including those who provide for their material needs, share in the rewards of their labor [10].
The various traditions represented in the sources converge on the idea that true service is motivated by a genuine love for God and a desire to serve others, rather than personal gain or recognition. As such, serving others without expectation of reward or recognition is seen as a fundamental aspect of Christian discipleship and a reflection of the selfless love of God.
Sources
- I Peter “I Peter 4:9 (KJV) — Use hospitality one to another without grudging.”
- 1 Peter “1 Peter 4:9 (NASB) — Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”
- Mishneh Torah (Maimonides) (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Mishneh Torah (Maimonides), Mishneh Torah%2C Repentance 10:5: Anyone who occupies himself with the Torah in order to receive reward or in order to protect himself from retribution is considered as one who is not occupied for the God's sake. [In contrast,] anyone who occupies himself with it, not because of fear, nor to receive a reward, but rather because of his love for the Lord of the entire earth who commanded it, is one who occupies himself for God's sake. Nevertheless, our Sages declared: A person should always occupy himself with the Torah even when it is not for God's sake for out of [s”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 9:18: 9:18 Paul’s satisfaction came from preaching the Good News without charging anyone. This is another example of the way Christians must be willing to give up their rights out of consideration for others (cp. 8:13).”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 71: 438 438 All the previous sentences of this section, except the first , are omitted in the French. For, first , they are altogether in error when they say that, unless a hope of reward is held forth, no regard will be had to the right conduct of life. For if all that men do when they serve God is to look to the reward, and hire out or sell their labour to him, little is gained: he desires to be freely worshipped, freely loved: I say he approves the worshipper who, even if all hope of reward were cut off, would cease not to worship h”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 4: Augustine — Anti-Manichaean, Anti-Donatist — BOOK XXII. (part 46): that he may live in peace in the Word which makes visible the First Principle, or God; that is, he serves for Rachel, not for Leah. For what a man loves in the works of righteousness is not the toil of doing and suffering. No one desires this life for its own sake; as Jacob desired not Leah, who yet was brought to him, and became his wife, and the mother of children. Though she could not be loved of herself, the Lord made her be borne with as a step to Rachel; and then she came to be approved of on account of her c”
- 1 Corinthians (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 9:15: Here he tells them that he had, notwithstanding, waived his privilege, and lays down his reason for doing it. I. He tells them that he had neglected to claim his right in times past: I have used none of these things, Co1 9:15. He neither ate nor drank himself at their cost, nor led about a wife to be maintained by them, nor forbore working to maintain himself. From others he received a maintenance, but not from them, for some special reasons. Nor did he write this to make his claim now. Though he here asserts his right, yet he does not claim his due; but de”
- 1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 9:15: Paul's special gift of continency, which enabled him to abstain from marriage, and his ability to maintain himself without interrupting seriously his ministry, made that expedient to him which is ordinarily inexpedient; namely, that the ministry should not be supported by the people. What to him was a duty, would be the opposite to one, for instance, to whom God had committed a family, without other means of support. I have used none of these things--none of these "powers" or rights which I might have used (Co1 9:4-6, Co1 9:12). neither--rat”
- 1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 9:17: What is my reward then?.... None at all, I have none to expect, hope for, or claim, in a way of debt; I am a servant intrusted by my Lord with the Gospel, and an unprofitable one I am; I do, at most and best, but what is my duty, and for that I can claim no reward: all the reward that remains is only this, verily, that when I preach the Gospel, which I am obliged to do, I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge; to them that hear it, as he did to the Corinthians, which was his glorying in Co1 9:15 and is the same with his reward here; for this means no”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: one preacheth, and thou waitest on the preacher, thou sharest his crowns. Since even in the contests that are without, the crown is not only for him that striveth, but for the trainer, and the attendant, and all that help to prepare the athlete. For they that strengthen him, and recover him, may fairly participate in his victory. And in wars too, not only he that wins the prize of valor, but all they too that attend him, may fairly claim a share in the trophies, and partake of the glory, as having shared in his conflict by their ”
- 1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 9:16: For if I do this thing willingly,.... That is, not freely and without receiving anything for preaching, without seeking any temporal profits and advantages; nor in pure love to Christ, and the good of souls, without any fear of punishment, or hope of reward; but the apostle supposes a case which was not, and his sense is, that supposing no necessity had been laid upon him, or any injunction or command given him to preach the Gospel, but he had entered on it without any obligation upon him, then, says he, I have a reward; or should have one, or might expect on”