How can I learn to have purer motives?

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.