awards night

living for a greater recognition

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Matthew 6:1-4 ESV

This past week was McGraw Hill’s National Sales Meeting, culminating with the awards ceremony Friday night. I have been in sales for over 35 years now and I have attended many of these ceremonies. I have also been the recipient of my fair share of recognition and rewards of which I am grateful for and always humbled by.

I think it is nice and right, that companies recognize employees for hard work, success, and teamwork. I am also of the mindset that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be good at your craft or career and seeking the rewards that might come along with those efforts. After all, God is the one who taught us about rewards. Just read the above scripture from Matthew again, And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

That being said, through the years I have learned and experienced so much about the Matthew 6:1-4 scripture above and its intended lesson. I am humbled by God’s goodness. He has shown favor to me in opening my eyes to see the reality of the successes I have been blessed to experience in my career. He has been patient with me through my years of my myopic mindset.

For starters, as a woman who grew up in church, I always struggled with wanting to succeed and not being prideful. I never really understand how it was possible to desire success and recognition without becoming prideful. I always thought they were a package deal, and they can be if we aren’t careful, but they don’t have to be one in the same.

Our motivation is what will be judged.

Depending on my age, and where I was in my life, there have been a wide variety of motivators for my success, and honestly, the majority of them were not healthy. I have had various fear driven, skewed, prideful, self-centered, self-righteous, and flat-out myopic mindsets about succeeding, and receiving rewards.

When I was younger I sought to be recognized because I desired man’s praises. I sought to prove my worth to my family, my friends, my colleagues, and my superiors. As a single mom, I was completely driven by fear, fear of losing my job, and embarrassing my sons. Not to mention, the  pride of my ex knowing if I had been fired was too much.

I was totally driven by fear, even to the point of putting up with a toxic bosses instead of trusting God and walking away from something that was causing me emotional, mental, and physical illness.

The past several years of attending this kind of award ceremonies has been such a different experience for me. I see them from a new point of view. Thankfully, God has broadened my perspective, opened my eyes and heart, and answered the repetitive prayer I have prayed throughout my life for wisdom and discernment.

“Be wise enough to appreciate your past and recognize it isn't a part of your future.” ~LovetoKnow

Now when I attend these award ceremonies, I am reminded to thank God and to be grateful for the wisdom He has given me through the years, in regard to , awards night, and living for a greater recognition. I am grateful for the following lessons He has lovingly and patiently taught me through the years.

1.     If our motivation is selfish, and what we are being rewarded for or seeking achievement in conflicts with God’s word, do not expect His blessing, here on earth, or later in eternity. If it’s in conflict with God’s word, know that it isn’t a desire or a blessing from God.

2.    There is nothing wrong with recognition and the desire to succeed. God gave us those desires. He gave us a will to want to do well and achieve. Just remember, NO ONE succeeds in a vacuum. Do not forget God and others who helped you attain your success.

3.    Know that often our success is God’s provision for us (or our family) during that window of time in our life. Do not allow arrogance to overcome your spirit and forget who provides for us.

4.    Do not do anything solely for the recognition of others. Do everything to please God who, most likely, if it doesn’t conflict with scripture, gave you the skills and the desire in the first place.

5.    As you are doing what needs to be done to succeed, and when you are recognized for your success, remain humble. Don’t brag about it, especially to those you beat out.

6.    Be careful not to be driven by fear. That is not from God and often times a red flag for us to move in a different direction. Sometimes it’s a warning we are striving towards the wrong goal or for the wrong reasons.

7.    Remember, how you lose speaks louder than how you win.

As the many award recipients were called to stage this past Friday night, I thought about how many people helped us receive an award. They will never be recognized. There are so many people behind the scenes of a person’s success. No one succeeds in a vacuum. In that moment, I thanked God for opening my eyes and heart to recognize this truth.

He reminded me that while those recognitions and awards are awesome and a blessing, we all have a greater reward waiting for us in eternity that is so much more important. I was surprisingly overcome with emotion as I recalled the true award He has given me the past eight months as He has faithfully walked through my cancer with me and our family.

Earthly rewards are great and feel good, but Saturday morning was just another morning. All of us were running to catch our shuttles to the airport, back to our “real” lives. Friday night was fun and the recognition was cool, but people wanted to get home, to their kids, to their loved ones, to their pets...

The next day, Saturday, as I passed people throughout the airports, I had no idea who was an award winner and who wasn’t, but something that randomly humbled me, was thinking about Yvonne, a server I got to know at The Boca where we stayed. I met her my first night there. She served me iced tea.

She worked very late into the night, and then I saw her bright and early the next morning. I made it a point to speak to her after seeing her work so late into the previous evening. I wanted her to know I appreciated her and that I saw her. This woman was easily in her late 60’s early 70’s and she was amazing! She was joy filled, pleasant, and such a servant. It was an honor to meet her.

I continued to see her throughout the week. I called her a beauty queen because she was beautiful. Her attitude and her smile was jaw dropping, and her humble and peaceful demeanor struck me. She was someone who clearly played an important role in serving others at the Boca, and she was proud of her role and responsibility.

Yvonne is the example of someone living for a greater reward. She likely doesn’t see or experience a lot of recognition in her day-to-day job, but she performs as if she is working for recognition beyond what this world deems successful. Her walk was an example to me.

Everyone wins when we work as if we are working for God and not for man. Everyone wins when we do our best, whether we will receive an award, public recognition, or not. Friday night was awards night, but by Saturday morning it was over. If we aren’t living for a greater recognition than Friday night, then it’s going to be really hard to get up and face Saturday morning.  

Don't confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other. ~Erma Bombeck

 

Melinda Olsen

From a divorced, single mom, to remarried and part of a multi-faceted blended family, I can assure you, life does go on after divorce, and it can be better than you imagined.

I see you. I’ve been you.

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