Render unto Him what is due

Paul has rights from the Corinthians. As an apostle and spiritual father, he had the right to support from the Corinthian believers. He mentions this in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians: this is a command that goes back to the Old Testament. Do not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. Paul asks them, is it really about oxen? Is it not about preachers of the Word, those who give their lives in service to other people? Render unto these men what is their due!

Paul goes on to say, if the Corinthians were to give, to support him voluntarily, that would be rewarding in itself. Yet if they were to do it involuntarily, begrudgingly, they would still only be doing what they should.

Paul likens this to his own ministry before God.

You see, Paul had the right to demand support, yet he did not take advantage of that right. This does not negate the existence of his right - it just means that he did not take what was his. In preaching the gospel, Paul says he was simply discharging the trust committed to him. He was a steward of God's grace, preaching the gospel because it was his duty. If he had preached the gospel begrudgingly, he would have been doing what was required of him; he preached the gospel willingly, and gladly, and so it was rewarding. 

To me, this goes for everything we do as believers, whether service, worship, or belief. If we believe the right thing about God, we're only doing what we are supposed to do. If we use up every breath in praise of God, we're only rendering unto God that which is His due. If we spend all our energy in glorifying God, we are not doing anything above and beyond our duty as human beings.

We are so fickle, we demand rewards for the tiniest service, thinking we did something great for God, something for which He now owes us. We forget that we are created to be God-glorifying image-bearers, whose sole purpose is to render to God the praise due His name. Anything we do for God is a thing we ought to have been doing anyway. Any praise we give is praise we were supposed to give.

The beautiful thing here is that God's grace is in this. Just as Paul preached because it was his duty, yet received a reward because he did it willingly, so too will we receive a reward. God is pleased with our attempts to glorify Him. We will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We will receive the prize because we've run the race, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith. Praising God through our actions and thoughts, through our work and word, is reward enough in itself, for it satisfies our deepest reality as God's image-bearers - yet above and beyond that God will bless us beyond measure, for He will satisfy us with great things. God has already proven His own character through Christ Jesus - He has given us what we did not deserve, what we did not earn.

All praise to Him who reigns above
In majesty supreme,
Who gave His Son for man to die,
That He might man redeem!

Blessed be the Name,
Blessed be the Name,
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Blessed be the Name,
Blessed be the Name,
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

His name above all names shall stand,
Exalted more and more,
At God the Father's own right hand,
Where angel hosts adore.

Redeemer, Saviour, Friend of man,
Once ruined by the Fall,
Thou has devised salvation's plan,
For Thou hast died for all.