Giving without hoping for a reward

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Rafael1226

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I am not a naturally generous or kind person, but try really hard to be. But I find that whenever I do a charitable or kind act, my mind will go into hoping that I receive some kind of grace or that it will be pleasing to God to the point that he will answer my petitions. I know both these are wrong, and I am trying to get that thinking out of my mind, but it is far easier said then done. Does anyone else have this problem, and how do they go about trying to improve? Thank you for your thoughts.
 
I am sure we owe charity to those we give it to.

Also Christ encourage us, reminding us that indeed things done out of love bear reward in heaven and even on earth. He understands human nature and it can be hard to make a sacrifice expecting nothing in return, although that’s one definition of “love”.
 
I think it’s a completely natural thought to have, and something at least 95% of the population do whenever they do an act of charity.

I suggest every time you think it, challenge yourself - tell yourself, “no, I am doing it for this reason”. And keep telling yourself it until it’s the first thought coming to mind 🙂
 
I suggest you have children. Then you will know what it means to give with no assurance of reward. For that, give thanks and praise to God!
 
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Yeah…God didn’t create you perfect and now you’re upset because you haven’t perfect charity?! Your perfection is God’s work, not yours. Give him more opportunities to perfect you and He will! You learn to love by loving and you will learn to be generous by being generous. Be generous first and ask God to help you improve in it.

I won’t embarass myself here by listing some of the notions i still have about myself when i do something for someone…and i’m at this about 20 years.
 
Just on October 6th we had the gospel reading from Luke 17 of the slave…

7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

I can’t tell you how many times I have to say this to myself because of some little thing I did and hope God blesses me a hundred fold. Of course we learned that from scripture too, didn’t we? lol
 
Rafael1226 said:
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hoping that I receive some kind of grace or that it will be pleasing to God to the point that he will answer my petitions …
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God has promised reward to those that attain heaven, so that is not a sin. God will give graces to help with spiritual petitions, such as virtues. Are you thinking rather of a material benefit? We do receive grace that may also heal our health in the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, so that hope is not a sin.
 
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