July 24, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Complex Motives"
Proverbs 16:2
New International Version
2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
When it comes to moral and spiritual actions, motives are equally complex. One can act from the purest of motives, yet violate God's commands. As Samuel reminded Saul, where there is outright disobedience, an act of sacrifice is worthless before God. The more difficult situation is suggested by today's featured verse, where we are doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. Consider, for example, regular participation at times of worship, contributing generously to good causes, or personally helping the poor and oppressed. All good things, yet there is potential for wrong or mixed motives that never occur to us because we underestimate our own capacity for impure motives, or we overvalue our nobility of character. Rarely do we give others that same benefit of the doubt, so why should we think we are somehow exempt? Whatever our own view of ourselves, in God's eyes it's not just what we do that counts, but why.
The obvious question is: When was the last time I double-checked my motives for doing even the good things I do?
