Considering Rewards

Ἀδύνατον δέ τινα τῶν παθῶν τούτων περιγενέσθαι, μὴ παντελῶς βρωμάτων καὶ χρημάτων, καὶ δόξης ὑπεριδόντα, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος διὰ τοὺς ῥαπίζειν αὐτὸ πολλάκις ἐπιχειροῦντας· Πᾶσα οὖν ἀνάγκη μιμεῖσθαι τοὺς κινδυνεύοτας εν θαλάττη, καὶ τῶν σκευῶν ἐκβολὴν ποιουμένους διὰ τὴν βίαν τῶν ἀνεμων καὶ τῶν ἐπανισταμένων κυμάτων. Ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα προσεκτέον ἀκριβῶς, μή πως ἐκβολὴν ποιούμενοι τῶν σκευῶν, πρὸς τὸ θεαθεῖναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ποίσωμεν· ἐπεὶ ἀπέχομεν τὸν μισθὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἄλλο τοῦ προτέρου χαλεπώτερον διδέξεται ἡμᾶς ναυάγιον, τοῦ τῆς κενοδοξίας ἡμῖν ἀντιπνεύσαντος δαίμονος. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, τὸν κυβερνήτην νοῦν παιδεύων, προσέχετε, φασὶν, τὴν ἐλημοσύνην ἡμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸ θεαθεῖναι αὐτοῖς, εἰ δὲ μήγε μισθ̀ον οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ ὑμῶν τῷ ἐν τοὶς οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ πάλιν· Ὅταν προσεύχησθε, φησὶν, οὐκ ἔσεσθε ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ, ὅτι φιλοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς, καὶ ἐν ταῖς γωνίαις τῶν πλατειῶν ἑστῶτες προσεύχεσθαι, ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἀπέχουσι τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Ὅταν νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε, ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποὶ· ἀφανίζουσι γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν, ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Ἀλλὰ προσεκτέον ἐνταῦθα τῷ ἰατρῷ τῶν ψυχῶν, πῶς διὰ μὲν τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης τὸν θυμὸν θεραπεύει, διὰ δὲ τῆς προσευχῆς τὸν νοῦν καθαρίζει, καὶ πάλιν διὰ τῆς νηστείας τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν καταμαραίνει, ἐξ ὧν συνίσταται ὁ νέος ἄνθρωπος, ὁ ἀνακαινούμενος κατ̓ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτὸν, ἐν ᾧ οὐκ ἔστι διὰ τὴν ἀγίαν ἀπάθειαν ἄρσεν, καὶ θῆλυ, οὐδὲ διὰ τὴν μίαν πίστιν, καὶ ἀγάπην, Ἕλλην, καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ, καὶ ἀκροβυστία, Βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, καὶ ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι Χριστός. Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περὶ διαφόρων πονηρῶν λογισμῶν, Κεφαλ Γ' Source: Migne PG 79 1224d-1225a

It is impossible to overcome the passions unless we can rise above attachment to food and possessions and honour, and even to our own body, by which the demons often assault us. There is every need, then, to imitate people who are in danger at sea and who throw things overboard because of the violence of the winds and the height of the waves. But here we must be very careful lest we throw things away that we may be seen to be doing so by men, since we shall receive our reward for that, but then we shall suffer another shipwreck, worse than the first, blown off our course by the demon of vainglory. That is why our Lord in the Gospels, teaching the helmsman's mind, says, 'Take care that you do not give alms in front of others that you be seen by them, lest you  have no reward from your Father in heaven.' Again He says: 'When you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in synagogues and at street corners, so they be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. Moreover when you fast, do not put on a gloomy face, like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces so that they may be seen by men to be  fasting. Truly I say to you, they receive their reward.' 1 But observe the physician of souls here, how by mercy He treats our irascibility; how by prayer He purges the mind, and again how by fasting He causes desire to wither, and by this the new man is fashioned, renewed according to the image of his Creator, in whom, on account of holy apatheia, there is neither male nor female, nor is there, by one faith and love, Greek or Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all in all. Evagrius Ponticus, On Various Wicked Thoughts, Chapter 3 1 Mt 6.1-5