Read Pr. 21:3-8
God is not looking for a payoff - he wants our heart. He would rather us live rightly and fairly than to fast and sacrifice our time. The priests of the Old Testament went to great lengths to fulfill the written law but did their lives and hearts didn't reflect the heart of God? Some did and some didn't. We can go to great lengths to clean the outside of our lives but it is the inside that God is interested in. The scribes and Pharisees looked good on the outside but inside they were full of extortion and excess. Jesus told them to cleanse the inside first and then the outside would be clean also.
God hates pride and arrogance. Even the hard work of those that are wicked is sin. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit. But the work of the person who plans and puts time and prayer into their endeavors will be prosperous and successful. You must have patience and wait on God's timing. Those who are in a hurry to get rich or try to sham people end up in want and eventually eternal death. It is our nature to sin but when God rebirths us through the blood of Jesus he changes our nature to be pure.
Lord, help us to have pure hearts before you so that it is reflected in all that we do.
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