true motives.
Have you ever thought about the things we do? What is our desired outcome of the choices we make? Are we honestly selfless when helping others with their needs, or is there a bit of hope that our actions of ‘love’ will benefit us in the end? Do we ‘network’ with new possible friend’s to invest our lives into, or is it an attempt to add to our contact rolodex another step closer to our selfish goals. Do we write songs for God and perform because we are broken and desperate to share the glory and praise to our deserving God, or is it that we thrive on applauding acceptance and personal glory that we hide behind our false humility. Do we update statuses, write books, and create blogs to change the world, or is it to create a fan base and be successful in the eyes of man. Do we ask a waiter/waitress if we can pray for them so we can invest in their life and show the true love of God, or is it just so we can show those around us we are Christians.
The thought of what people think of us determines most of our motives. We write songs hoping that it will be a hit, and I’m not saying thats always wrong, but what exactly is the joy in this hope? Do we live by the scriptures truth of doing all things for the glory of God?
I wonder when we’ll ever get this idea permanently prominent in our mind. The idea that everything we do should be done with the motive of glorifying God. There is too much business in our life, in what we do and who we talk to that everything seems to be a system of us turning arrows of opportunity back at ourselves. The questions I started out with are questions I always think about when I’m pursuing whatever it is I am going after. In our day and age, with the ability to do anything that could possibly bring us attention, we are struggling.
Our motives really are everything of who we are. If we are doing something, our motive shows what it’s for. I think as we are inward thinking beings, most everything we do is ‘motive questionable’. The fact that scripture constantly talks about being changed, by the renewing of our minds and that God knows our heart and judges our motives shows that this is a very vital thing that we must bring to attention in ourself. We must, in our own hearts, measure our reasoning for doing certain things and decide if those things are worth doing, or if the motive behind it needs to be changed. This is what determines our hearts.
Motives aren’t wrong always, as long as they are lined up with the motives of Christ. The more we learn about the Lord the more we realize that His purpose for our lives is the be like Him, and to be like Christ means to glorify God. Everything Jesus did was to glorify his Father. Christ’s motives were to glorify his Father, and to give an example in how to do so. He was an example to what we’re supposed to be and what we were created for.
God had a motive for sending Jesus to live and die. That motive was for everything that was right. His motive was to be glorified and to love. God is the only being that has the right to be selfish, yet He came and was selfless.
Something that was absolutely life changing today while driving and listening to the bible on my iphone was this scripture.
Hebrews 2:12
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
You can’t read this and say there was no motive in why Christ came here. I was in tears today when I read this. There are times where I talk to God in the midst of temptation, suffering, and confused as I’ll ever be forcefully speaking to God in my mind saying, “You don’t understand God. If you only knew how I felt.” I subconsciously discredit Christ sometimes because when I think that he was man, but also God, and if He couldn’t sin, how did he know how it felt to suffer in this type of way. But I am wrong on ever level when it comes to that because like it says in verse 18, “Because He Himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” The tears started running as the acknowledgement of my absolute wrong perspective of Jesus was overruled.
Jesus had a motive. To glorify his father, and to show love by understanding us, and being where we were in our suffering so he can give us empowerment and hope that there is a way to have peace in the midst of suffering and in turn glorify God. His motives were pure.
I want to be like Christ. I want to be like Christ. I want to be like Christ. I want this to be forever running through my mind.
Our motives of what we do have to be pure. This will not always happen, as we are human, but if we are constantly consulting our God asking for Him to help us be clear in our motives, it will be easier to do things for the glory of the King instead of the glory of our journey.
We don’t have a right to do things for ourselves, but more so the privilege to do things for our God.
