All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD evaluates the motives.    Proverbs 21:2 HCSB

The dictionary defines a motive as a reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious. When a prosecutor is trying to prove someone committed a crime it helps if they can establish a motive or a reason why the accused would commit that crime.

We always have a reason for doing the things we do. Sometimes our reasons or motives are selfish and sometimes they may be to benefit others. But one thing we can count on is that God examines and evaluates our motives for doing the things we do.

We sometimes try to convince others and possibly even ourselves that our motives are pure when they are anything but. We may frame gossip by saying, “I just want you to pray for this person because I just heard…”  We also need to be careful about our motives when we serve the Lord. Often times people claim to be serving the Lord but are really serving themselves.

The other day we talked about how God sees our heart. He also understands our motives. There are several verses that I want to look at today because I feel it is important that we understand the necessity for having the proper motives when we do something. If we do things out of our love for God and our love for others our motives will always be pure. It’s easy to do things out of love for those we love, but we must also do the same for those that are unlovable. You know what I’m talking about. There are those who are rude, mean and sometimes just downright nasty. The flesh tells us that we don’t need to love them, but the Bible tells us we do. It doesn’t mean you have to be their BFF, you may have to love them from a distance. But we have to love them even if we struggle to do so. We have to forgive them for their behavior. If they are just plain evil, we should not associate with them (1 Thessalonians 5:22) but we should still pray for their salvation (Matthew 5:44).

We are told in Luke 6:38 that the person who gives, will receive. It says if we give, it will be given back to us; a good measure-pressed down, shaken together, and running over-will be poured into our lap. We should never give just because this verse tells us we will get more back, we should also never give out of obligation. We are told that God loves a cheerful giver. When we give out of love we are happy to do  it, we are not giving reluctantly or because we feel we should or to impress someone else or whatever other reason we may have. We should never give expecting something in return.

I was taught to tithe from an early age. I can remember putting a quarter in the offering every Sunday as a small child. I have never felt obligated to tithe, I have always done it because I know how God takes care of me. God has always provided for me financially even when giving my tithe meant I had no money to live on until the next paycheck. God has always come through. I’ve often heard people tell me they can’t afford to tithe, but I tell them I can’t afford not to.

When we truly believe, we want to give to others.. Our pastor did a wonderful sermon on this last Sunday. When we love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength we want to please Him. We want to give to others. When we put others above ourselves, we want to share the Lord with them, we want to share our blessings with them.

Luke paints a beautiful picture of this in Acts 4:32. He tells us that the believers were unified having one heart and one mind and no one went without because those who had shared with those in need. People were even selling their land and giving it to the church to help others who were in need. People were being saved and becoming believers daily.

This is what God intends for us. He wants us to give out of love. He wants to bless us out of the love He has for us. But He will not honor motives that are not pure. God searches our hearts. He knows what we are thinking and why we are doing what we do. Whatever you do be sure it’s for the right reason.

Have a great day!