Tuesday, November 16, 2010

MOTIVE

This note is a reprint from two years ago. I realized that MOTIVE truly is a virtue. What makes this virtue different than most is that it cannot easily be seen by others, but by the Lord. Yet, it is one of the most important issues of the heart and our destiny. It is wrong motive that caused Lucifer’s fall, Judas’ betrayal, David’s quietly contrived murder of Uriah. It was pure motive that led Moses' mother to set her baby into the river, Jacob to pursue Rachel, Esther to be queen, and Jesus to conquer the cross. The Bible clearly states that our motives are not to be judged by others. Yet, we are to hold ourselves accountable to the Lord in our quiet time as well as spiritual relationships of accountability. And though motives cannot be seen by onlookers, our fruit will eventually tell the world what substance we truly possess. Only the Holy Spirit can help us to understand and see the motives hidden within the most personal and deepest parts of our souls.

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

What motive is driving us to achieve our goals? Is it status? Are we only wanting to gain acceptance from our peers or superiors? Is there rhyme or reason to some of the things we strive so hard and long for, only to appear “better” to certain people? How far we will go to appear to be something we truly are not? Once we have gained this status, how is it going to catapult us further? With this question in mind, it takes us to another question. What is our ultimate goal in life? Is it to please Jesus with everything we do in every aspect of our life? Or is it to do whatever needs to be done to “prove ourselves” to gain someone’s respect and love, or to gain status? Do we prove ourselves only to prove someone else wrong? Why is it we feel we have to prove ourselves? Our lives are not lived to merely prove ourselves to others, but to advance the Kingdom of God. Are our actions kingdom-driven, or are they “what-will-give-me-self-gain” driven? It is important that we realize our motivation behind each action.

Likewise, it is important to be excellent in all we do. It’s not that we need to be less than others in order to be humble. I once heard someone say that being meek is not being pushed down so people can walk over you, but it’s having power under control. With that said, are we excellent so we can give God our best, or are we excellent so we can prove something to the people we see here on earth? Will our actions here in the present affect our impact in the kingdom of God? Do we honor God in every area of our lives, or just where it’s comfortable and easy? As Christians, it’s easy to keep our relationship with Him in a separate box away from everything else that goes on in our lives. But we should do whatever it takes to allow God to infiltrate every aspect of our life. We can’t pick and choose certain times to honor Him.

In your everyday walk, take a step back every once in a while and look in. Look in to your life and meditate on your reasons and motives. Make adjustments of the heart as the Lord directs you. Ask Him to purify your motives. If you stay close to the Lord, you will allow Him be the motive of every decision in your life.