December 2015

Girl scouts provide badges and
pins to show the achievements
their charges have made. The
website girl scouts.org girl
indicates, “Girl Scout badges
are a great way for a girl to
explore her interests and learn
new skills—and to remember
every adventure and show the
world what she’s accomplished.”
After girls have built a website,
rode in a kayak, etc, they are
awarded a badge. Boy scouts
have their merit system as well.
After cooking, camping and
other achievements boys scouts
are awarded a badge. The more
badges on one’s scout uniform,
the more impressive the scout.
On the job, workers who do well
are also rewarded, sometimes
with merit pay; other times with
promotions. Popular culture and
the media reinforce the notion
about merit and reward. No one
receives an Emmy unless he/
she performed extraordinary
work. The same holds true for
any American Music Awards
and Tony Awards. The most
ambitious in these categories
work hard to achieve that award.
They want that star, that boost in
salary or recognition.
From sources inside and outside
the home the message is clear:
good works will result in good
rewards. These merit systems
are necessary for a community,
society, country to keep the
focus on the highest level of
performance. From these
awards society understands
what excellence is. It identifies
the goal for which one should
aspire. it maintains steady growth
and honor. This is how the world
operates. This is the wisdom of
the world in operation. All around
the connection between hard
work and reward is sustained.
It is no wonder then that some
people bring this same merit
system of thinking to their
relationship with God causing
them to believe that if they do
good works, God will extend
to them the gift of salvation.
They just cannot believe that
salvation is free. As a result
they may donate large sums
to organizations and churches,
work up brownie points to
earn salvation. They may join
numerous auxiliaries in the
church. Even the rich young ruler
in the synagogue couldn’t believe
that he could do nothing to earn
salvation. He asked Jesus, “What
must I do to be saved?” implicit
in the question is that salvation
rested on his achievements. He
had the audacity to tell Jesus
that he already obeyed the
ten commandments. In short,
he was saying that he was
already doing those things that
are considered good. Jesus
challenged the man even further
and told him to sell all his goods
and give the proceeds to the
poor. (Matthew 19:21) Jesus
knew the man could not do that.
In fact, Jesus’ whole message
during his teaching was that
there is nothing one can do to be
saved. By faith, salvation must
be accepted as a gift from God.
Awards vs Gifts. According to
dictionary. com, awards are
given because they are “due or
merited.” The recipient must do
something of merit to earn one.
On the other hand, the same
website indicates that gifts are
“something given voluntarily
without payment in return.” In
short, the recipient does nothing
to merit a gift.
From the beginning of time,
God has been conveying the
message that there is nothing
people can do to cover their sin.
Adam and Eve tried by covering
their nakedness with fig leaves.
God replaced their covering
with one of his own—the gift of
an animal skin. (Genesis 3:21).
Much later God knew that the
children of Israel could not
obey his commandments even
though he established a system
whereby they annually offered
up sacrifice for sin. But they
kept committing the same sins.
There was nothing they could
do to earn salvation then and
there is nothing that people can
do today. That is why God took
matters into his own hands. “ . .
.[he] had offered for all time one
sacrifice for sins, he sat down at
the right hand of God.” All the
work is already done.
Out of the kindness of a giver’s
heart, gifts are given. We are
told in Romans 3:23 (NIV) “The
wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.” There
is nothing that we can do to earn
God’s gift to the world. He gave
“his only begotten son.” (Johns
3:16 NIV). And God did this while
we were yet in sin. When we
were still enemies with God, he
gave the utmost for our benefit.
Anyone who thinks that they
can do something that is good
enough, holy enough, beautiful
enough, sacrificial enough to
merit God’s only son, doesn’t
understand who God is. Nor
do they understand the cost of
God’s son to the world.