Motive

I see the motive as the thought behind the action or activity. I’ve done things before without thinking much. I’ve also done things thinking about how this will appear to others. Motives are usually secret and personal. If I open up and speak about my motive, then I become much more authentic and vulnerable.

I wish that I could say that my motives were always pure, but they aren’t. I still do things to be noticed by others. I like others to say nice things about me. I believe that is an “impure motive”. I think my motive should ALWAYS be pleasing The Lord.

Matthew made a statement in a situation where the religious leaders were asking Jesus about taxes. Jesus calls them out. Check this out….

¹⁸ But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me? (Matthew 22:18 NLT)

I believe that my motives come from deep within my heart. When my motives are bad, it because my heart is deceitful.  I was reminded of a passage in Jeremiah about the heart. Check this out…

⁹ “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is? (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT)

I desire to have pure motives when loving and serving others. I believe that those who know me best can discern my motives and I can discern theirs. My wife and kids know me very well. My co-workers know me. My closest clients and friends know me. These are people who have been around me enough to see my actions in multiple circumstances. They can read my motives from all sorts of angles.

I used to want to be famous and known. I really want to make Jesus known. I do like accolades and praise, but it’s fleeting and temporary. I’m at the point in life I’d love for others to know Jesus and the Peace He brings to everyday life.

My motive is writing this blog this morning is a valid concern. A few years ago, I started writing a few paragraphs about what passage spoke to me in scripture that morning. I would write and then save it to my computer. I felt the Lord nudging me to share it with others and my blog was pushed out. I write because I feel called to write for my clarification of scripture. If what I learn touches someone else, to God be the glory for that. I’m just a Christ follower seeking to be obedient and faithful to the Lord. I need to keep check on every motive behind every action. The Lord knows my motive and He is still helping me surrender my pride to love and serve at a deeper level.

Pressing On!

Dwayne