Our good works and pursuing our own gain are intimately linked. There are some who would say that godliness never seeks its own gain in doing good works, and would point to a verse such as 1 Cor 13:5: "[love] does not seek its own." But is seeking our own gain entirely excluded? The answer is found in 1 Cor 13:3: "If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." That is, 1 Cor 13:3 shows to us that good works done in love brings true gain to ourselves. The key here is that our good works are done "in love."

But what does it look like to do our good works in the context/motivated by love? First Corinthians 13:1-7 shows this to us. It shows what true love for others on display looks like. And summarizing what love for others is, Piper writes, "Love is the overflow and expansion of joy in God, which gladly meets the needs of others." Notice two words here: "joy" and "gladly." In both cases these two words are first focused in on the other: "joy in God" and "glady meets the needs of others." But in focusing on the other, it does not remove all self-gain because in that "other-focus" we gain joy. And, so, Piper writes, "If love is the overflow and expansion of joy in God which gladly meets the needs of others, then to abandon the pursuit of this joy is to abandon the pursuit of love!" In short, we MUST pursue joy/enjoyment as it is an essential part of pursuing love. But this is no self-centered pleasure with no concern for others. Quite the opposite! It is an other-centered joy, a joy first centered on God and also centered on others. Hence, the two greatest commandments can be summarized as "love God" and "love others." But do not miss it: we are purusing our own joy and gain in loving others. And this is not sin but the essence of love, for the key to love is joy.