God Is Watching Your Motives
Beloved, God is not only interested in what you do; He is also interested in why you do it. People may see your actions, but God sees the motive behind those actions. People may applaud what you have done, but God knows why you did it.
People may misunderstand something you did with a sincere heart, but God knows the truth. Nothing about the human heart is hidden from Him.
Beloved, one thing you must understand about motives is that they can be hidden from everybody, but not from God. A person may sincerely believe that he is doing something for the right reason until circumstances expose what is really in his heart.
That is why Proverbs 16:2 says, “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.”
We are naturally good at explaining our actions to ourselves. We can find reasons to justify what we want to do, but God goes beyond our explanations and examines the condition of our hearts.
This is why every serious believer must develop the habit of asking God to search his heart deeply. Sometimes what you call passion may actually be competition.
What you call boldness may sometimes be pride. What you call concern may sometimes be jealousy. What you call correction may sometimes be an opportunity to embarrass someone. What you call generosity may sometimes be an attempt to control another person.
What you call discernment may sometimes simply be suspicion. We must allow the Holy Spirit to show us the difference. Beloved, your motive becomes especially important when nobody can reward you. It is easy to serve when people appreciate you.
It is easy to give when your name will be announced. It is easy to work hard when your supervisor is watching.
It is easy to behave well when important people are around. But what happens when nobody notices? What happens when you have selfish motive in what you are doing? What happens when you do something good and another person receives the credit?
What happens when you contribute greatly and nobody says thank you? Your reaction at that moment can reveal something about your motive. If you immediately become angry because nobody recognized you, perhaps part of your motivation was the recognition you expected to receive.
There is nothing wrong with appreciation; people should appreciate those who serve faithfully.
But our faithfulness to God should not depend entirely upon human applause. Beloved, motives are powerful because the same action can become either worship or self-promotion depending on what is happening in the heart.
This is why God is interested not only in the size of what you do but in the sincerity behind it. People may celebrate the visible result, but heaven examines the intention of a man.
There are people who do good things because they genuinely love others, and there are others who do good things because they want to create an obligation. They help you today, but tomorrow they remind you repeatedly of what they did.
They gave you something, but the gift becomes a weapon whenever disagreement comes. They recommend you today, but tomorrow, they will try to break boundaries you have created around your life.
They supported you, but now they believe they should control your decisions because of their support.
That reveals that generosity can sometimes carry hidden expectations and manipulations. True kindness does not mean you can never expect gratitude or healthy reciprocity, but examine your heart carefully.
Are you helping because you genuinely want to help, or because you want to purchase influence over somebody’s life? God is watching your motive.
Sometimes people even use love as a disguise for control. They say, “I am only doing this because I care about you,” but underneath their actions is the desire to dominate another person’s decisions. Genuine love respects appropriate boundaries.
True love advises, encourages, corrects when necessary, and protects, but love does not need to manipulate another person to prove its importance. True love does not need to take advantage of people.
When you love a person, the question is: What’s your hidden motive for loving the person? Two people can perform exactly the same action and yet have completely different motives. Two people can give money to someone in need.
One gives because of genuine compassion; the other gives because they want everybody to know how generous they are. Two people can start the same business, the other person will be planning how to betray the person and violate their agreement.
While the person will truly be there to work for the success of both parties. Two people can serve in the same church.
Prayer Assignment (Morning)
Prayer Focus: O Lord, Purify My Heart and My Motives
Scripture Meditation: Psalm 51:10; Psalm 139:23–24; Proverbs 16:2; Proverbs 21:2; 1 Samuel 16:7; Jeremiah 17:10.
1. Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of another morning and the privilege of walking with You today, in the name of Jesus.
2. O Lord, search my heart this morning and reveal every hidden motive that does not please You, in the name of Jesus.
3. Father, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me, in the name of Jesus.
4. Every seed of pride hiding behind my good works, be uprooted from my heart, in the name of Jesus.
5. Every desire for human applause competing with my desire to please God, lose your hold over me, in the name of Jesus.
6. O Lord, deliver me from doing good merely because I want people to recognize me, in the name of Jesus.
7. Father, give me grace to remain faithful even when nobody notices or appreciates my efforts, in the name of Jesus.
