Reward

Reward is a word which denotes something of value given in return for an act, a bounty or prize promised for a certain deed, or simply the result of an action, a consequence, even a punishment. In psychology reward dependence is a tendency to respond to signals of reward, and learning to maintain and pursue behaviors which are associated with these; in neuroscience this is related to the reward system, a collection of brain structures which regulate behavior by inducing pleasurable effects.

Quotes are arranged alphabetically by author

• Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.
  • Saint Augustine in: Catherine Basten Strive to Love, Anticipate with Hope, Believe in Faith, smashwords.com, 16 February 2011, p. 8

• There always comes a time in history when the person who dares to say that 2+2=4 is punished by death. And the issue is not what reward or what punishment will be the outcome of that reasoning. The issue is simply whether or not 2+2=4.
  • Albert Camus, The Plague (1947)

• This is the great reward of service, to live, far out and on, in the life of others; this is the mystery of Christ, - to give life's best for such high sake that it shall be found again unto life eternal.
  • Joshua Chamberlain in: John W. Primomo The Appomattox Generals, McFarland, 24 June 2013, p. 187

• Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.
  • Princess Diana in: Ray Matlock Smythe One Card at a Time: Stories of Inspiration, Xlibris Corporation, 15 August 2012, p. 80

• I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil.
  • Albert Einstein in: Max Jammer Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology, Princeton University Press, 5 September 2011, p. 123

• Infinite striving to be the best is man's duty; it is its own reward. Everything else is in God's hands.
  • Mahatma Gandhi in: Anuradha Kumar Mahatma & the Monkeys, Hachette India, 12 March 2012, p.64

• I like to praise and reward loudly, to blame quietly.
  • Catherine the Great in: Fayek S. Hourani Daily Bread for Your Mind and Soul: A Handbook of Transcultural Proverb and Sayings, Xlibris Corporation, 1 October 2012

• Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
  • Jesus, in Gospel of Matthew, 5: 3- 12 (KJV)

• Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
  • Jesus, in Gospel of Matthew, 5: 42 - 48

• Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
  • Jesus, in Gospel of Matthew, 6: 1 - 6

• Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
  • Jesus, in Gospel of Matthew, 6: 16 - 18

• He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
  • Jesus, in Gospel of Matthew, 10 : 41 - 42

• If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
  • Jesus, in Gospel of Matthew, 16 : 24 - 28

• I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do---the actual act of writing---turns out to be the best part. It's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.
  • Anne Lamott in: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 18 December 2007, p. 26

• Another definition of a hero is someone who is concerned about other people's well-being, and will go out of his or her way to help them -- even if there is no chance of a reward. That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero.
  • Stan Lee, [1]

• And he writhed inside at what seemed the cruelty and unfairness of the demand. He had not yet learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to do another and harder and better one.
  • C.S. Lewis in: The Horse and His Boy , California Books Inc., 7 August 2014, p. 36

• All those who love Nature she loves in return, and will richly reward, not perhaps with the good things, as they are commonly called, but with the best things of this world-not with money and titles, horses and carriages, but with bright and happy thoughts, contentment and peace of mind.
  • John Lubbock in: Current Opinion, Volume 13, Current Literature Publishing Company, 1893, p. 413

• Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.
  • Og Mandino in: Best You Ever: 365 Ways to be Richer, Happier, Thinner, Smarter, Younger, Sexier, and More Relaxed - Each and Every Day, Adams Media, 18 October 2010, p. 324

• True happiness is not found in any other reward than that of being united with God. If I seek some other reward besides God Himself, I may get my reward but I cannot be happy.
  • Thomas Merton in: No Man Is an Island, Shambhala Publications, 2005, p. 56

• Write every day; never give up; it's supposed to be difficult; try to find some pleasure and reward in the act of writing, because you can't look for praise from editors, readers, or critics. In other words, tips that are much easier to give than to take.
  • J. R. Moehringer in: J. R. Moehringer Biography, Barnes & Noble

• There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.
  • Muhammad narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2244, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2466.

• A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." He replied, "I do not find such a deed." Then he added, "Can you, while the Muslim fighter is in the battle-field, enter your mosque to perform prayers without cease and fast and never break your fast?" The man said, "But who can do that?" Abu- Huraira added, "The Mujahid (i.e. Muslim fighter) is rewarded even for the footsteps of his horse while it wanders about (for grazing) tied in a long rope."
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 44

• The one who recites the Qur’an and the one who listens to it have an equal share in the reward.
  • Mustadrakul Wasa’il, Volume 1, Page 293

• The Prophet said, "He who has a slave-girl and teaches her good manners and improves her education and then manumits and marries her, will get a double reward; and any slave who observes Allah's right and his master's right will get a double reward."
  • Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ashari, in Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 46, Number 723

• Surely this Qur’an is the rope of Allah, and a manifest Light (nur), and a beneficial cure. Therefore, busy yourselves with the recitation of it, for Allah - The Mighty and Glorious – grants the reward of ten good deeds to you for every letter which is recited.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 19

• Things are stuck now.
  • William Nordhaus, only four days after receiving Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, in interview for Diurnal of New Economic Theories (Oct 12, 2018)

• I saw that homely and sweetly was this shewed, and that the age of every man shall be known in Heaven, and shall be rewarded for his willing service and for his time. And specially the age of them that willingly and freely offer their youth unto God, passingly is rewarded and wonderfully is thanked.
  • Julian of Norwich, in Revelations of Divine Love (c. 1393), The Sixth Revelation; Ch. 14

• Rust Cohle: If the only thing keeping a person decent is the expectation of divine reward, then brother that person is a piece of shit; and I'd like to get as many of them out in the open as possible.
  • Detective Rustin "Rust" Cohle as interpreted by Matthew McConaughey in True Detective, "The Locked Room", written by Nic Pizzolatto, (January 26, 2014)

• I have not yet lost a feeling of wonder, and of delight, that this delicate motion should reside in all the things around us, revealing itself only to him who looks for it. I remember, in the winter of our first experiments, just seven years ago, looking on snow with new eyes. There the snow lay around my doorstep — great heaps of protons quietly precessing in the earth's magnetic field. To see the world for a moment as something rich and strange is the private reward of many a discovery.
  • Edward M. Purcell in: Maxine Block et al., Current Biography Yearbook, H. W. Wilson Company, 1954, p. 521

• هل جزاء الإحسان إلا الإحسان
  • Is there any reward for good other than good?
  • Qur'an 55:60 as translated by Yusuf Ali

• To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward or fear of any punishment in this world or the next. Work so done is a means to the end, and God is the end.
  • Ramakrishna in: Bible Review, Volume 13, Esoteric Publishing Company, 1915, p. 36

• Love is the expression of one's values, the greatest reward you can earn for the moral qualities you have achieved in your character and person, the emotional price paid by one man for the joy he receives from the virtues of another.
  • Ayn Rand in: Ayn Rand Reader, Penguin, 1 January 1999, p. 98

• We may thus clearly understand, how far astray from a true estimate of virtue are those who expect to be decorated by God with high rewards for their virtue, and their best actions, as for having endured the direst slavery; as if virtue and the service of God were not in itself happiness and perfect freedom.
  • Benedict de Spinoza, Ethics, Part 2, Prop. 49, Scholium (Dover 1955 p. 126)

• If you tell God no because He won't explain the reason He wants you to do something, you are actually hindering His blessing. But when you say yes to Him, all of heaven opens to pour out His goodness and reward your obedience. What matters more than material blessings are the things He is teaching us in our spirit.
  • Charles Stanley in: Matthew Terrill Total Surrender, FriesenPress, 28 April 2014, p. 49

• About belief or lack of belief in an afterlife: Some of you may know that I am neither Christian nor Jewish nor Buddhist, nor a conventionally religious person of any sort.
  I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without any expectation of rewards or punishments after I'm dead.
  • Kurt Vonnegut, in God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian (1999)

• The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.
  • Kurt Vonnegut, in A Man Without a Country (2005)

• No man, who continues to add something to the material, intellectual and moral well-being of the place in which he lives, is left long without proper reward.
  • Booker T. Washington in: Alfred Emanuel Smith, Francis Walton New Outlook, Volume 67, Outlook Publishing Company, 1901, p. 397

• Every reward has its proper bounds.
  • Joseph Yates, J., dissenting in Millar v. Taylor (1769), 4 Burr. Part IV., 2391; reported in James William Norton-Kyshe, The Dictionary of Legal Quotations (1904)

• Compensation
• Karma (the law of cause and effect)
• Results