Years ago the sister of a well-known pastor created, at his request, a simple card to post on the wall beside his desk. On the card was printed a simple, three-word question:
WHAT'S YOUR MOTIVE?
That's an important question to ask, because motives matter to God. "All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord" (Prov. 16:2). Motives are the underlying reasons for our actions. A pastor-friend of mine often says, "We do what we do because we want what we want."
After Jesus fed the five thousand, he got into a boat and headed to the other side of the lake. The people he had just fed soon got into a boat and went looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill." (John 6:25-26 NIV).
God is all-knowing. He is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, and we will give an account to him for these things (Heb. 4:12-13). Therefore, we should regularly examine our hearts to make sure that our motives are pure.
With this in mind, we must also guard against the kind of self-analysis that leads to spiritual paralysis. Some Christians spend so much time examining their possible motives for doing something, that they never get in motion to do it!
Take fasting, for instance. One may ask, "Will I do this because I'm hungry for God, or because I want to lose weight?" Or how about church attendance: "Will I go because I want to worship God and build up my brothers and sisters in Christ, or because I want others to think well of me?"
These are good questions to ask, so long as they don't become so consuming that they keep us from doing the very things God wants us to do. Truth is, God uses some of these very actions as a means of grace -- to help mature and purify us as his people.
A good example of this appears in Psalm 73, when Asaph (a worship leader of Israel) was envious of the wicked. When Asaph saw how much they prospered and how "problem-free" their lives were, he began thinking that living for God was a waste of time. He hadn't started talking this way, but he was already thinking this way. That is, he says, "until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny" (Psalm 73:17). Asaph goes on to confess, "Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant..." (vv. 21-22a). Asaph didn't wait to get his thinking 100% straight until he went to God's temple. Rather, it was then and there at God's temple that Asaph's thinking got straight! David derived the same benefit in prayer, saying, "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139:23-24).
Bible reading, prayer, and corporate worship are just a few means that God can use to prick our hearts and purify our motives. So don't wait until you're positive that your motives are perfect before engaging in these spiritual activities, because the truth is, you'll never get there. We will never achieve perfection this side of heaven. Instead, we should strive for a clear conscience as we go about our business. We should be able to say with the apostle Paul,
My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Cor. 4:4-5)