Motives of the Heart

I Corinthians 4:5

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes.  He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.  At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 

Have you ever been misjudged by someone?  It is very hurtful when people wrongly assume the worst about us. Often people make decisions on very limited information, which can easily lead to jumping to the wrong conclusion.  We must guard our hearts against judging other people’s actions and most particularly, their motives.  Doing so hurts the people that God has commanded us to love.

Judgment causes other problems as well.   It is personally damaging to us when we wrongly judge others.  It hurts our walk with the Lord, because He is the only Righteous Judge.  We are instructed in the Bible to not judge others. Committing the sin of judging puts a distance between us and God.  This ultimately keeps us from walking in the level of intimacy and relationship with him that we desire. 

Both of these scenarios are real problems and worthy of prayerful, personal introspection.  But what really leaps in my spirit when reading this passage is the knowledge that God is judging the motives of my heart.  That knowledge causes me to shake with dread.  People judge on what they can see on the outside.  God judges with total radar vision.  Nothing escapes his watchful eye. 

I can do many good things, and even have them turn out right, and all the time be motivated by a wrong heart attitude.  Things we do to be seen of men will not stand the test when we give an account to God.  Things that I do to gain influence or put people in my debt will not be rewarded on that day when I stand before him.  Things that I have done, hating it all the way through, because I felt a responsibility to do it, will not result in reward either.  Why?  Because God is the God of the heart.  He does not just instruct us to give, but he says that he loves a cheerful giver.  He does not just want His kids to obey him.  He wants them to obey Him with a right heart.  If you are a parent, or if you have been around kids for any length of time, you know how unrewarding it is for a parent to have their child obey, all the while huffing, sulking and glaring.  In our home, that behavior is not acceptable.  We require obedience and respectful attitudes. 

 The most sobering aspect about God judging the motives of our hearts is that we sometimes delude ourselves.  We rationalize and convince ourselves that we are doing things with the right motives even when we are working from a selfish or self-serving motive.

Today, take some time to reflect on the “why” behind what you do.  When we stand before the Lord at his return, we do not want to do so in fear, but rather in hopeful expectation.  This passage indicates that we will actually receive praise from Him for the deeds we did excellently and from a right heart.  

 We must daily put ourselves on the righteous scales of the Word of God.  If we confess our struggles to Him, He is faithful to forgive and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  He is able to so work in us that we can serve Him in a way that brings honor to Him and will bring reward to us.

Lord, today I ask that you show me the motives of my heart.  Help each decision I make and each deed that I do, to flow from right motives.  Make me into a servant in whom you can be pleased.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sherri