Pay careful attention to your own work, 

for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, 

and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.  

For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

~Galatians 6:4-5

"It doesn't matter what I do, no one notices anyway."  I have heard this many times (and have said it too).  We tend to get discouraged when we thing no one notices that we are doing a good job.  We tend to get negative when we aren't the one getting the award even though we believe we did a much better job than the award winner.  As a result, what do we do?  We start slacking off and not trying nearly as hard.  Then we complain because no one noticed when we did a good job, but they noticed when we stopped working so hard.

Did you notice it?  Did you see it?  People noticed when we stopped working so hard...which means they DID notice when we actually were working hard.  How else would they know we had slacked off?

Think about this, when your car is rolling on down that highway (I am channeling my inner Bachman Turner Overdrive), we don't pay much attention because everything is working to its potential.  We appreciate it, we do notice that everything is working as it should, and we are grateful.  But we don't REALLY pay attention until we hear that odd noise or feel that funny shimmy in the wheel.

But consider this:  If you only do your best when you think someone is looking or you think it will get you a promotion or you think it will get you an award, then you have quite a big ego and should probably look for a new line of work (such as selling larger hats to accommodate the swollen egos).

The Apostle Paul is reminding us that we should do pay careful attention and to the best we can regardless if we get "noticed" or not.  Because here's the kicker, God ALWAYS notices, and He holds us accountable and will reward us accordingly in time!