scratching God's back?

i had a conversation with one of my fellow staff members over lunch the other day and he said something that stuck me as out of sorts. i initiated to conversation by asking about a friend of his who has recently moved into our community. during his explanation of his friend's new situation, he mentioned that the favor that he did for his friend (letting him stay with he and his wife) did not go un-reciprocated. i was intrigued by his comment so i pressed him a little further. i asked if he always asked for reciprocation when doing a favor. he said "yes, that's what i do." intrigued again i probed a little deeper...."has anyone ever said 'no' to your request for reciprocity?" he said that no one has ever told him that they were unwilling to return the favor to him, altho some has asked for suggestions as to how. he further stated that this form of tit-for-tat was the way he always approached doing favors or granting requests. he gave a couple of recent examples to explain himself further. the conversation ended there, but i was not done thinking about his comments.

now my friend is a fully committed christian, loves jesus and loves worship, but i have a hard time reconciling his stance with that of what God has done for me....what if God required reciprocity when dispensing grace? what if He demanded that we fulfill certain obligations before He covered us with the blood of the lamb? what would our God look like if we needed to scratch his back in order for him to scratch ours? i don't care for a God that requires appeasement prior to blessing, that just reeks of conditionalism (not sure if that is a real word or "-ism"). i believe that God covers us with grace long before we even realize that we need to be covered by grace. God doesn't bless us only when we agree to bless God in return. God doesn't withhold answers to prayers b/c we did not adequately return the favor! that's crazy, that's definitely not the God who calls me his child.

ok, i've got that off my chest.

grace&peace