a work is what you do to earn a wage, a reward.
You can boast of your works. because when you receive the wage or reward. you earned it.
not of works lest anyone should boast. (eph 2)
Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. (rom 4)
and that is why the going shopping and seeing the NEEDY fits perfectly here.
it is true, i do go to places, God, gives me the feeling/urgency/idea to do something and i do my best to do it.
if it remains at listening and hearing God to Obeying God, you are GOOD.
it's the times you go to places, God, [[[DOES NOT]]] tell you to do something, BUT, you do something anyways.
now, it's a Good Thing You did.
but, YOU did it.
and that presents room to boast proudly...unfortunately.
but as long as it is Hearing God and doing, then it is ALWAYS God doing the WORKS.
and that is very important.
Our Treasures are stored up in doing what God tells us so HIS WORK gets done.
doing it out of our own good will is also important, but, it ain't about God.
and no one ever thinks like that.
they apply what they do as if God told them to do it.
God, only tells you so many times, out of hundreds, when you go somewhere to do something for someone else.
so, every other time, is just YOU, trying to do works, which is equal to filthy rags.