Heaven as a reward?

If you grew up Christian, you were most likely taught that Heaven is your reward for believing in Jesus Christ, doing God's work and living a life that Christ would live. That message is everywhere, including scripture. But I always had an issue with it. When I was little I never received an allowance like my friends. I think that at our house there was no belief in getting a reward for what you should have been doing in the first place. Clean your room...here's a buck...what!?!? If I needed money for a movie with a neighbor kid or to buy a birthday present for a friend's party, I would just ask and get money for that event. So when I thought about heaven as a reward, it didn't make sense to me either...it just didn't follow.

When I think about 'doing the right thing' or trying to live my life as Christ would have me live it, I still don't really think about my 'reward'. Actually, I'm already receiving a reward now...in this life, as I experience the peace of trying to keep my life in order or in learning more about the kingdom of God through study and prayer. What is our motivation is serving God and God's purpose anyway. So we can get a prize like at a Halloween festival?...if you throw the fake fishing line over the sheet just right you get a pack of Sweedish Fish on the end of your clothes pin? It just doesn't seem right. It seems to me like we should be serving God in complete response to what Christ has done for us and in response to that pure love we experience. Don't get me wrong, I look forward to the mystery of 'heaven' being revealed to us all. But Heaven as a Reward??? Makes my faith journey seem less than genuine if I'm acting like it's all about me and what I get for my efforts. My prayer everyday is that I'm looking beyond myself toward the needs and wants of others and in doing that am serving God for the sole reason that I should be doing that anyway...not for my reward.