|
What’s
your real motive?
INTRODUCTION: We will do best to seek truth about our real motives.
It is better to do poorly, see yourself in truth and repent, than
to think you are walking in the light when you are walking in darkness.
I Cor 10:12 Prov 14:12, 16:2, 21:2. If you realize you
can’t see well, you will tread carefully and humbly.
1.
Those
who don’t know God:
If this life is all there is, there is no purpose in doing
anything without receiving something or expecting something in return in
the future. These are examples of personal motivation and rewards. a.
Karma:
Supernaturally what goes around comes around. b.
Feelings
of accomplishment, of being a person who completes duty, did it for a
dead grandma, etc. c.
Adulation
from others d.
Fulfilling
a life command (Treat others like you’d treat yourself) e.
Trying
to prove life commands wrong (You’re just a selfish person) f.
Expecting
something of value from another person. g.
Avoiding
something negative from another person. 2.
Christians: .
If operating in the flesh, motives are mostly selfish, just like
unbelievers. I Cor 3:1 I Cor 13:3 a.
If operating in the spirit, “sacrificial” acts are out of an
overflow of love from God. I Thes 3:12 3.
Biblical
basis: .
Man is corrupt. Jer 17:9 “The
heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand
it?”
Isa 64:6 Rom 3:10-18 a.
All good comes from God. James 1:17a “Every
good and perfect gift is from above... Mark 10:18 4.
Reasoning: .
God wants us to see truth. Psalm 139:23-24 a.
Satan is effective having us act godly. II Tim 3:5 5.
Application: .
Ruthlessly analyze your motivation when doing things for others. a.
If it was selfish in any manner, confess it. Spend time
thinking about the love of God. Consider being created, your
salvation (the price paid so you could have an eternal relationship with
God), and your inheritance. b.
If it was a result of an overflowing of God’s love, give praise
to God for using you as His vessel and filling you with so much love
that you had love to give.
|