When I was a teaching assistant in Old Testament at seminary, a student questioned the mark that I gave for an assignment; the explanation for challenging the mark was that the student had put hours and hours into this paper. I said to the student that I could only mark the paper handed in, not the effort behind writing it.

If we’ve put in a lot of effort on something maybe we think that other people should acknowledge that and give us extra credit for it. But in reality people only give us credit for what they actually see is produced, the end result. Whatever effort we put into preparing for something, making something, or going somewhere, is our business. We just did it. It adds no benefit in the eyes of others, because they don’t know even if it affected the end result/product. So it is important NOT to require other people to give us brownie points for the effort that we’ve put into something. Instead, “Serve the Lord cheerfully” (Psalm 100:2a God’s Word©)

We benefit by the work we put into it because we learn something or the discipline is good for us or whatever, but they get nothing out of it directly – the end product is still only the end product. “Don’t do your duty only while you’re being watched, as if you merely wanted to please people. Do your duty like slaves who belong to Christ, who have a deep desire to do what God wants them to do” (Ephesians 6:6).

In our Canadian society we overdo that everyone should get an award or prize (participation) out of a false notion that if we do not stroke the ego of everyone they may end up damaged, but more damage is done giving them a false expectation that the world should always praise them just because, not because they actually accomplished something in a manner worthy of special note.

And what can be assessed is the end result, not participation or the time it took to finish.

Spiritually, everything we do should exalt Jesus, as Paul said, “I planted, and Apollos watered, but God made it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is important because only God makes it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6,7 God’s Word©).