Motives are defined by Google in regard to character as the reason behind a characters behavior and actions. In life every word or action has a motive behind it whether we care to admit it or not. This morning I find myself contemplating the motivations of my heart. What are the motives for the actions that I take? Does it even matter?

Yes, my friends, if you are a believer our motives matter in an even deeper way than it would for a non-believer. First, I want you to consider the Pharisees and Christ reaction to them. In Matthew 23 Jesus pronounces woes on the Pharisees and the scribes. The pharisees and scribes where the religious leaders of the day. He said they followed the letter of the law, but they missed the heart of it. Meaning they were doing the right things, but they were doing them for the wrong reasons. Do you see that their motivations and their motives mattered? In the case of the Pharisees and Scribes they lived hypocritically preaching what was right but living another way. Not only was that one of the options but some of them chose to live right but they did it for attention or for prestige. So, there were two incorrect paths that they were taking depending on the person. Legalism-following this for your own glory or do as I say not as I do. Their words instead of offering life and hope to others we’re meant to condemn them and only exalt themselves. They weren’t worried about exalting God they were worried about benefiting themselves. It actually says” whoa to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees you hypocrites. You shut the door to the Kingdom of God in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” Wow, what a statement! Their motives were wrong, and their actions had serious consequences.

Motives matter. God sees to the heart of every man. It’s not about what you do so much but it is more about why you’re doing it. So, if we recognize that motives matter to God, perhaps more even than our actions, how then do we live in light of this revelation? What were the Pharisees missing?

I would argue that Christ should be our motive. Let me explain. We should be motivated to bring him glory, to bring him acclaim, to build his Kingdom, and to promote his message. The pharisees and the scribe should have been all about God. They should have stayed humble and given God the glory, instead they became corrupted. Even the way they gave was publicly to receive recognition for their offering and their prayers were complicated with eloquent words not really said to communicate with God but instead to display their own intelligence and greatness. They were not horrible people; they were people who lost their way. They may have started for the right reasons and with the right motives but in time their focus and their aim shifted from God’s glory to their own. We should be careful not to fall into the same trap. 

We need to check our motives as a believer. Why do we want the things that we do? Are we really wanting the right things? Is it for selfish ambition that we’re seeking or are we seeking instead for God’s glory? We need to be honest with ourselves when we start to waver off that humble path that we’re called to.

What do I mean by Christ is our motive? It’s simple, building his Kingdom and bringing him glory should be our only aim. Here’s what I mean. In Colossians chapter 3 verse 23 to 24 it says” whatever you do” {literally it does not matter what the action is (speaking, working, singing, playing, living, learning, etc.)}, “do it with all your heart as working for the Lord-not for human masters. And not for yourself.” So even though you have a human boss or someone in authority over you, you need to recognize that God placed you in your position and what you do in your workplace or in your position you do it for God and God alone. Why? Colossians goes on to say that “we know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” You see the payoff for everything we do is receiving Christ and the inheritance he has for us. So, we’re not working for the money that we temporarily receive here and we’re not working for the acclaim of those around us instead we understand that every action is really being done to build up the Kingdom and glorify God.

When we become believers there is a shift not just in our actions although those will change as well but also in our motives and our focus. We keep acting, working, living, loving, and serving but we recognize it is all as if it is done directly for God. It is for his glory and for his Kingdom to be built. Your world becomes colored and changed as you shift your focus to see it all through Christ and for him alone.

You are not loving your coworker and showing them kindness. No, you are loving and showing kindness to Christ as you serve and love them. You are not giving and offering out of obligation, you are giving really to build the Kingdom knowing that he will continue to sustain you. It’s not for your recognition or benefit, it’s to build the Kingdom. It’s not for your benefit or for what you can receive from it instead it’s for his benefit. You no longer clean and cook for your family or friends you are expending your energy and effort for Christ himself as you serve them.

It is hard to imagine or see it especially when you’re in the middle of it, but it is as if Christ stands before all others saying love me by loving them, serve me by serving them, give grace to me by giving grace to them, be generous to me by being generous to them, give your life and yourself to me by giving your life and giving of yourself to them.

Let’s not fall into the same trap the Pharisees did. They served, gave, and went but completely missed the point. Instead let’s love, give, go, and do it out of love for our Savior Christ Jesus. Let’s continue our whole lives in the same way. Everything done for his glory and his acclaim never our own.  

Our actions motivated by love for a Savior who for some amazing reason lavishly loves us. People don’t need you or me. They need Jesus and Christ’s love shining out of us as vessels for his glory. Check yourself today. Look into your heart and investigate your motives. I know I’m checking myself. Am I doing all that I do for Christ and his acclaim alone? Are there places I have lost the proper focus and perhaps am seeking for myself whether it be recognition, acclaim, or wealth? Be honest with yourself, I’m being honest with myself. All we have to do is repent if we find that we are in the wrong. Simply ask God to get us back to the proper focus. He understands that we all fall short of his glory and we all at times have the wrong motives. He can make us right again and bring us back to the proper motive, the right focus.

I hope today that you can challenge yourself to have the right motives as a believer. I certainly do not want to fall in the woe category because I wasn’t willing to be honest about my motives. Because I wasn’t willing to ask God to help me make right what isn’t right in my heart. So, let’s get back and focus on what we should focus on. Let’s move forward together motivated by Christ. Let’s do everything as unto him for his glory and his glory alone.