What Are Your Motives?

I believe it is a sign of emotional health to regularly check our motives. As a Christ follower, I regularly evaluate my actions, thoughts, and the motivations behind them, in order to verify whether I’ve been representative of the Jesus I know, and to assure that I have not been acting out of selfishness.

The hope is that I may decrease and He may increase.

Have you ever noticed how when you release your death grip the notion that things must benefit you they typically end up benefiting you in a greater way? The goals are met, but with a greater peace that you might have had otherwise.

“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world — wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important — has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out — but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.” — 1 John 2:15–17 MSG

At the time of this writing, I sit at the verge of one of the biggest breakthroughs of my life — career, finances, home, relationships, ability to reach youth for Christ; all of these things will be affected. I have to watch my motives. If there is any impurity within them, and the temptation is there as my wife and I have been in a season of strife, then we will either fail or we will succeed to a lesser degree.

I plan to revisit this post. I’ll read it when I need a motivation check. My words may only be for myself in this moment.

As we inch ever so closely to this breakthrough (oh boy, just wait until I can share it!) it is my prayer that everything I do is for the glory of God and the expansion of His Kingdom. I pray that my community will find the healing it needs. I pray that our youth will find the freedom & acceptance they need. May the Church become the cornerstone of the community like she was in days of old. When there is a physical need, may the Church fill it. When there is a spiritual need, may Jesus be accepted as the only solution.

From my heart to yours.