Membership Has Its Rewards

Part of my job as a bookseller is to push our store’s membership cards. I like to think of them as a commitment, because at twenty-five dollars a year, a customer will have to buy over $250 worth of books just to break even. That’s why they’re not easy to sell, especially when the competitor offers their discount card at only ten dollars a year. However, there are those days when we do particularly well. The store manager excitedly writes the good news on the white board for all to see, and he will give credit to whom credit is due, posting names and numbers.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a good day selling the membership cards, and I was leaving the cash register duties to a coworker. I told her how many cards I’d sold and told her to keep it up so we could have a really impressive total for the day. She told me she wasn’t going to sell any. When I asked her why, she responded, “Because I never get my name on the board; why should I bother?”

With that kind of defeatist attitude, it’s a wonder anybody gets anything done. From a Christian standpoint, we know we shouldn’t expect our reward here on this earth (Matthew 6:1-18). I’d rather have my name written up there than on a white board down here. It’s a shame that this attitude exists, and what’s more, the results are even worse. Not feeling appreciated makes us complacent, and will ultimately stunt our spiritual growth.

While women are not to lead in the public worship service, there are always jobs women particularly can do within the church. Somebody keeps the ledger, somebody fills the trays for the Lord’s Supper, somebody washes the baptismal garments when necessary, somebody brings flowers for the auditorium, and somebody makes sure we have supplies in the supply room. The list goes on, even including winning souls for Christ. While these may sometimes be thankless jobs here, I’m sure they won’t be thankless in the next life. Let us not cease to doing good just because we aren’t recognized for it!

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1, NKJV)