Proverbs 3:27-28 (NIV)
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you.
Proverbs 3:27-28 (KJV)
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
Why do you work? You work to get your paycheck right? Why do you work hard at work? You work hard so that you can get promoted or a raise right? What if you got an opportunity to work at a job where you would never get promoted, you would never get a raise, but you would never get fired, would you work there? As for me, not a chance! When I look at that job offer, I just see in invitation to be lazy, and a place where hard work goes uncredited. Work without reward, is a recipe for laziness.
A second example: You help out a stranger, work for them all day and you work your hardest for them. There are two results that could happen: A) They pay you and/or they are very appreciative towards you and your hard work. Or B) They say nothing at the end of the day, no thanks, no pat on the back, no smile, no thing. Chances are you will have some very disheartening things to say about person B. You might even say things to others, or to yourself, that would cause you to sin against this person and hold a grudge against them. It’s really upsetting to you because at one point during the day you saw that this person had plenty of money to pay you with. Even when we are on our best ‘Christian’ behavior we still would have pretty upset feelings towards person B, agreed?
The point is this, person B in the second example had the money to pay you, but choose not to until the following day. In doing this he maybe caused you to sin against them because of the thoughts in your head, maybe you put up a grudge, and/or maybe you talked behind their back to other people because you felt betrayed for your hard work.
1 Corinthians 10:32
Do not cause anyone to stumble..
Leading others into sin intentionally or unintentionally is dangerous both to you, and to the sinner. Jesus says in Mark 9:42
And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.
Be careful of your actions and how it effects others!
The second point in the example is that even though person B payed you a few days later (after all your possible grumbling), chances are your still not going to feel appreciated for your handwork and you won’t have as strong as a desire to work for them again, or at least not as hard as you would for person A.
Be sure to give what deserves to be awarded as soon as it deservers it. In waiting you take the rist of causing others to sin against you, and at the very least you probably won’t get the same work ethic as you before. For some of us, a simple smile and thanks is all we need, they can go a long way. Ask yourself this, what are some of the thoughts you have had against people that took a long time to pay/appreciate you, what are things you have said against them? Are you proud of it?
Life of a Sinner 