Motive

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Motive

What is a motive? A motive is the

underlying reason for any action.

The Bible has a lot to say

about motives.

Proverbs 16:2 says, “All a person’s

ways seem pure to them, but

motives are weighed by the LORD.”

Because the human heart is very

deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), we can

easily fool ourselves about our

own motives. We can pretend that

we are choosing certain actions for

God or the benefit of others, when

in reality we have selfish reasons.

God is not fooled by our

selfishness and is “a discerner of

the thoughts and intents of the

heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

We can operate from a

variety of motivations, often

negative. Pride, anger, revenge, a

sense of entitlement, or the desire

for approval can all be catalysts

for our actions. Any motivation

that originates in our sinful flesh is

not pleasing to God (Romans 8:8).

God even evaluates the condition of our hearts when we give offerings to Him (2 Corinthians 9:7). Selfish

motives can hinder our prayers.

James 4:3 says, “When you ask,

you do not receive, because you

ask with wrong motives, that you

may spend what you get on your

pleasures.” Because our hearts are

so deceitful, we should constantly

evaluate our own motives and be

willing to be honest with ourselves

about why we are choosing a

certain action.

We can even preach and minister

from impure motives (Philippians 1:17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.), but God is not impressed (Proverbs 21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!). Jesus spoke to

this issue in Matthew 6:1 when He

said, “Be careful not to practice

your righteousness in front of

others to be seen by them. If you

do, you will have no reward from

your Father in heaven.” Those

involved in ministry must stay alert

to this tendency toward selfishness, because ministry begun for pure

reasons can quickly devolve into

selfish ambition if we do not guard

our hearts (Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.).

So what is the right motivation?

1 Thessalonians 2:4 says but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. God is interested in our motives even more than our actions. First

Corinthians 4:5 says that, when

Jesus comes again, “he will bring

to light what is hidden in darkness

and will expose the motives of the

heart. At that time each will receive

their praise from God.” God wants

us to know that He sees what no

one else sees. He knows why we do what we do and desires to

those whose hearts are right

toward Him. We can keep our

motives pure by continually

surrendering every part of our

hearts to the control of the Holy

Spirit.

Here are some specific questions to help us evaluate our own motives:

If no one ever knows what I am
doing (giving, serving, sacrificing),
would I still do it?
If there was no visible benefit for doing this, would I still do it?
Would I joyfully take a lesser
position if God asked me to?
Am I doing this for the praise of
others or how it makes me feel?
If I had to suffer for continuing
what God has called me to do,
would I continue?
If others misunderstand or
criticize my actions, will I stop?
If those whom I am serving
never show gratitude or repay me
in any way, will I still do it?
Do I judge my success or failure
based upon my faithfulness to what God has asked me to do, or how I compare with others?
Personal satisfactions, such as
taking a vacation or winning a
competition, are not wrong in
themselves. Motivation becomes an issue when we are not honest with ourselves about why we are doing things. When we give the outward appearance of obeying God but our hearts are hard, God knows. We
are deceiving ourselves and others too. The only way we can operate
from pure motives is when we
“walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25). When we allow Him to control every part of us, then our desire is to please Him and not ourselves.
Our flesh constantly desired to
exalt itself, and only when we walk
in the Spirit will we not gratify
those desires of our flesh.
As deeply as God cares
about our heart motives,
there’s something he cares
about even deeper.
We all know what it’s like to
do the right thing for the
wrong reason. But what
about the reverse? Have you
ever done the wrong thing for
(what you thought was) the
right reason?
Your motives were pure, but
you still blew it.
One of the things that separates
biblical Christianity from
almost every other religion is
its laser-like focus on our
hearts. Our Creator cares
what we do, to be sure, but
most fundamentally he cares
how and why we do certain
things. He’s interested in
those intentions that are
hidden from human eyes.
He’s after our hearts.
Psalm 100:2 commands us to
“serve the LORD with
gladness.” This means that
serving God can be an
exercise in disobedience.
If our service springs from a
heart that isn’t glad in God, it
isn’t obedience. It’s sin.
In the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus raises the bar even
higher. Struggling with
hatred? You have a murder
problem. Lust? It’s adultery
(Matthew 5:21–22 , 27–28 ).
And when you fast or give to
the poor, Jesus says, make
sure no one notices (Matthew
6:1–4 , 16–18 ). God sees your
heart, and his approval is
enough.
The Maker of heaven and
earth isn’t just concerned with
our service; he’s concerned
with our intentions. Our
motivations. Our hearts.
As deeply as God cares about
our motives, however, there’s
something he cares about
even deeper.
And that’s our message.
"It is true that some
preach Christ out of
envy and rivalry, but
others out of
goodwill. . . . The
former preach
Christ out of selfish
ambition, not
sincerely, supposing
that they can stir up
trouble for me while
I am in chains. But
what does it
matter? The
important thing is
that in every way,
whether from false
motives or true,
Christ is preached.
And because of this
I rejoice.
(Philippians 1:15–
18)"
"Evidently some
people are throwing
you into
confusion and are
trying to pervert the
gospel of
Christ. But even if
we or an angel from
heaven should
preach a gospel
other than the one
we preached to
you, let them be
under God’s curse!
As we have already
said, so now I say
again: If anybody is
preaching to you a
gospel other than
what you
accepted, let them
be under God’s
curse! (Galatians
1:7–9)"
Comparing these two
passages, in
Philippians, even though the
motives in view are wrong,
Paul is rejoicing because the
message is right. In
Galatians, by contrast, we
don’t read anything about
motives. For all we know, the
hypothetical apostles (“we”)
and angel from heaven could
have perfectly sincere
motives! Nevertheless, Paul is
outraged. Why? Because the
message being broadcast is
mistaken.
You see, the only thing that
bothered Paul more than
wrong motives (Philippians 1)
was the wrong gospel
(Galatians 1). According to
the Bible, the purity of our
message trumps every other
consideration—even one as
vital as our motives.
What are your motives when
you share the good news of
Jesus? Some may be good
(e.g., love for the lost,
passion for God’s glory),
others not so much (e.g.,
sense of guilt, desire to
impress). How about your
motives when you don’t open
your mouth? It might
often be an ugly combination of
apathy, selfishness, and fear
of man.
Even more importantly, when
you do attempt to share the
gospel, what gospel gets
shared? Which aspects of the
message are you most
tempted to edit, to mute,
perhaps even to deny? Maybe
it’s the severity of sin, or the
reality of judgment, or the
necessity of repentance. It’s
exceedingly tempting in our
culture today to emphasize
God’s mercy but not his
justice, his love but not his
wrath, his kingdom but not
his cross. Yet such lopsided
messages, however loving
they may feel, are powerless
to save.
Because the Lord cares much
about our hearts, wrong
motives are bad. But because
he cares most about his truth,
the wrong gospel is even worse.
Let’s not tweak the gospel of
Jesus. Our mission is to
deliver the mail, not tamper
with it. The risen King doesn’t
want editors; he wants men
and women who, with gentle
courage and humble
conviction, will open their
mouths to proclaim this
liberating message “of first
importance” (1 Corinthians
15:3 )—the message of what
God has accomplished in the
life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus to restore rebels to
himself.
So let’s get busy, friends. This
good news, after all, is
nothing less than God’s
explosive power to save
anyone who embraces his
Son (Romans 1:16 ).

Motive

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