God looks first at the heart from which an action springs, and only then at the action itself.
The same deed may be illuminated by love or darkened by vainglory. A kind word may be spoken to comfort another or to win praise for oneself. An act of charity may arise from compassion or from the desire to be seen. People see what is done, but God sees for whom and why it is done.
Therefore, examine your heart often. Ask not only, “What am I doing?” but also, “For whom am I doing it?” If the answer is Christ, then even the smallest deed acquires eternal weight. If the answer is self-love, then even great deeds lose their splendor before God.
Do not be discouraged when no one notices the good you do. What remains hidden from people is fully known to your heavenly Father. Grace most often bears fruit where human praise cannot reach.
Work as though God alone were watching, because in truth He is the One before whom your whole life is lived. Then your heart will become single in purpose, and peace will take the place of the desire to be admired.
“And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4)
