If you’ve seen (or just heard about) the anti-Kerry swift boat ad, this is worth looking at for balance.
FactCheck.org Republican-funded Group Attacks Kerry’s War Record

A good looking book…
Backbone of the Bible: Covenant in Contemporary Perspective
P. Andrew Sandlin, ed.

When we talk about receiving earthly blessings for faithful obedience to God, I think a lot of the time we have this idea that we do something good, and then, at some point after that good deed, God gives something good to us in reward. I don’t have a problem with receiving blessings for faithfulness and being rewarded by God, as many, I think, would. But I do have a problem with this way of thinking about it.

Take, for example, being involved in community. Showing hospitality to your brothers and sisters. When you obey God, and invite a family to your house for dinner, you might think that God will then do something good for you at some point. But having them over for dinner is good. When we have people over, and treat them as they ought to be treated as guests in our home, then doing that is our reward.

Let’s say we have some problem that is bothering us, say a financial issue. When we have people in our homes, they are our focus. We are striving to make them comfortable. We are serving them, bearing their needs and shouldering any problems they are going through. We are at their service entirely. And so, our money problem is not in our mind. It is put aside as we minister to others. If it is a minor problem, that doesn’t require a lot of deliberation, perhaps this evening with friends will end it entirely. If the problem is bigger, and will affect your entire life, then you’ve had a break for worrying about it. In this world God has made and put us in, when we obey Him by serving others, we shouldn’t expect a prize to fall out of the gumball machine at some point. That very act of hospitality and service is a blessing to us.