Big Idea - How can we be sure our hearts and our motives are right? What are the real motives behind our spirituality - the practice of spiritual disciplines and the doing of good deeds like helping others, serving, and giving? More importantly, what is the right motivation for doing these things? The best way to check one’s real motives is to live out one’s spirituality in complete secrecy so that God is the only one who sees. Then we remove any temptation to be motivated by the approval of others. We can easily deceive ourselves in the realm of spirituality - since it is a spiritual practice we can assume it is done for God, and we can be blind to our self-serving motivations. We do need affirmation and approval, and often we seek applause and glory as well! But, our need for approval and affirmation can be met by God alone. As for applause - we should be living to give all the glory to God, realizing that any truly good thing that we do is because of His grace and help!
