Question 1

So long as I do what is right, what difference do my motives make?

Accepted Answer

1 Chronicles 29:17I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.Proverbs 20:27The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.Our motives are very important to God. The condition of a person’s heart is reflected in the motives that drive our actions. And only motives shaped by unselfish love can enable us to have a true relationship with God.Genesis 4:4-5Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.Proverbs 21:27The sacrifice of an evil person is detestable, especially when it is offered with wrong motives.Cain’s sacrifice probably was regarded as inappropriate because his motives were impure. When our motives are selfish, even seemingly right behavior fails to bring us favor in God’s eyes.1 Chronicles 21:2, 7So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the people of Israel . . . and bring me a report so I may know how many there are.” . . . God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for it.David’s motive for taking the census was probably to see how powerful he had become, and that was what displeased God. Even a seemingly harmless decision, when made with an improper motive, can become personally destructive.Matthew 6:1“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.”When we pursue what appears to be a spiritual action with self-serving motives, we rob ourselves of the joy God intends for us.1 Samuel 16:7The Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”God is more concerned about our motives than our appearances or outward actions because our motives determine what is in our hearts.James 4:3Even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.Wrong motives hinder our prayers when selfishness is behind our requests.

Question 2

How can I learn to have purer motives?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 19:14May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.Psalm 51:10Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.We can seek to have purer motives by asking God to change our hearts. Our motives are defined and driven by what we love.1 Corinthians 4:4My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.We can seek purer motives by asking God to reveal the ways that our motives are self-centered and impure. God alone knows our hearts; if we ask him, he will reveal what needs to change and help us to accomplish it.1 Chronicles 28:9“Learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him.”Our attitude toward God is a good indicator of our motives toward others. So to have purer motives, we may need to ask others to give us their objective opinion. If we are half-hearted in the way we approach our relationship with God, however, our motives toward others probably are more half-hearted and self-centered than they should be.Psalm 26:2Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart.Proverbs 17:3Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.2 Thessalonians 1:11So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.1 Peter 1:6-7There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.We should welcome the situations where God tests our motives, even the difficult ones. These experiences give us an opportunity to grow.Proverbs 21:2People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.We should remind ourselves that God is as interested in our motives as he is in our actions. This should motivate us to reflect on the attitudes of our hearts, not just our outward actions.

Question 3

What are some bad motives that we need to avoid?

Accepted Answer

James 3:15Jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.1 John 3:12We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.Jealousy is a terrible motive for any action. If we let jealousy take root in our hearts, our actions will be selfish and cause hurt for others.Genesis 27:11-12“But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”When deceit and trickery are behind our actions, our motives for that action are clearly not good. One indicator of this may be our fear of getting caught; it is a clue that we are up to something wrong.1 Samuel 18:17-19One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.” “Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!” So when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.Proverbs 10:11The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.When we are motivated to harm someone, we are clearly being influenced by jealousy or some other evil desire.Ezekiel 33:31“So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money.”Matthew 23:13“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.”Romans 2:24No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.”Trying to improve our position with others by pretending to be close to God is a bad motive for any action and is displeasing to God. This kind of hypocrisy will drive believers and unbelievers alike away from God.Matthew 6:1“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.”Galatians 1:10Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.Our motive for doing good should never be to be admired by other people. The good we do should be done to please God alone.Matthew 22:15-18“Teacher,” they [some Pharisees] said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me?”When we take up a conversation with someone just to trap them and make them look bad, we are clearly driven by bad motives.

Question 4

What are some good, God-honoring motives?

Accepted Answer

Exodus 25:2“Tell the people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings. Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them.”Isaiah 11:3-4He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.Wanting to serve and obey God are beautiful motives for any action.2 Kings 2:9When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”1 Corinthians 4:15-16Even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. So I urge you to imitate me.1 Corinthians 11:1You should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.Wanting to follow the example of godly people in order to live a more godly life is a healthy motive for doing something.2 Chronicles 1:10“Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?”James 1:5If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.God is always pleased when our motive for growing in wisdom and knowledge is to serve him more effectively.John 21:17A third time he [Jesus] asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”Helping others out of love for God, not out of a desire for personal praise or as a way to impress God, is a worthy motive.Galatians 6:4Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.We should be motivated to do what is right because it is right, not because it will benefit us or impress others.

Motives