Isn't Aiming For Rewards Selfish?
First of all, God created us to respond to rewards. That's our nature.
Secondly, a proper understanding between healthy self-interest and selfishness is in order.
Selfishness is the attitude that thinks of oneself only and the pursuit of gain at the expense of others. It is different from healthy self-interest. Healthy concern for oneself is normal. We eat, we drink, we take care of our bodies etc. We can be concerned about ourselves while, at the same time, aim for the glory of God and pursue the good of others. Everybody wins --- God is glorified, others are served and ourselves rewarded.
A selfish person, on the other hand, would pursue his own gain and interests even at the expense of God's glory and the good of others. In this case, only self wins.
Thirdly, the right-hearted Christian will sublimate His rewards to glorify even more the King of glory:
Re 4:10 "...and cast their crowns before the throne..."
The "crowns" here are stephanos crowns or rewards. What did they do with them? They glorify the King through their rewards.
