Motives

Motives

MOTIVES

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. —Corinthians 13:3

Have you ever taken time to think about the reason why you do the things you do? Or the reason why other people do what they do? Behind every action there is a reason – or motive. Motive is simply the reason behind what we do.

Have you ever had a situation where someone became close to you and seemed to be very interested in your welfare only for you to realize later that they were just pretending? Yes, people can act very nicely to others just for the sake of something they need or want from them. Sometimes good deeds can be done for the wrong reasons. Even acts of kindness can be done for the wrong reasons.

Wrong motives are not always known. Many times the people with the wrong motives do not even know that they have wrong motives. They might have had those motives for so long that they are not aware of its presence. Motives such as the need for acceptance or the need to be recognized or the need to always outshine everyone else can be part of our lives without us knowing. They can drive us to great achievements but those achievements will not give us fulfilment because the motive behind them is wrong. Wrong motives eventually produce hypocrites.

God examines our motives before He sees our actions. He looks into our hearts before He looks at what we are doing. He is more interested in our hearts and the desires of our hearts more than the outward show that we put up for others to see. Always remember that the value of your actions is determined by the value of the motive that inspired it.

Prayer: Ask the Lord to examine your motives and help you to keep your motives pure and Christ-like.

Scriptural Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

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Motives