A year after making Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey won the Oscar for Best Actor. The next day his kids asked him, “Papai, what did you get that trophy for?” As a father who wants his children to appreciate the value of delayed gratification, I recognized this as a cool opportunity to teach them, McConaughey writes.
I said, “Remember a year ago when we were in New Orleans and I was already at work before you woke up in the morning and every night when I came home you said:
”You’re so skinny you look like a giraffe?’”
“Yes,” they nodded.
“Well, the work I was doing THEN, the commitment to the character I was playing THEN, the choices I made THEN, paid me back. This trophy, the Oscar for Best Actor, was given to me NOW, because my peers believe the work I did THEN was most excellent.”
I saw them working the math out in their heads. And then, it clicked.
“Wait, you got a trophy TODAY for something you DID a long time ago?”
“Exactly,” I said.
In that moment they realized the value of delayed gratification – that you actually can take action today that will reward you tomorrow.
In a culture consumed by instant results and immediate affirmation, it’s easy to forget that much of what we do in faith is sowing for a future we may not see today. Obedience often feels unseen. Faithfulness rarely trends. Forgiveness, generosity, prayer, and quiet trust may not produce instant results—but they are never wasted in the Kingdom of God.
Galatians 6:9 reminds us, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Our “Oscar” may not come in the form of a golden statue, but it will come in the form of eternal rewards, transformed lives, and a Father’s approval that echoes far beyond this life. Every act of love, every unseen sacrifice, every choice to trust Jesus over comfort—these are seeds sown in eternity’s soil.
So today, keep going. Make the hard choice. Stand firm in your convictions. Love when it’s difficult. Forgive when it costs you. You may not see the fruit yet—but your Father sees, and your reward is secure.
What you’re doing now matters. Just wait—there’s glory ahead.
And that’s the mid-week memo.
Steve
