Motives Matter

The Lord has taught me a TON of stuff over the past few weeks.  On my journey of dealing with pride, He has humbled me in numerous areas- areas that I never knew I struggled with.

One theme has been my motives.  I do so many things with the intention of drawing attention to myself!  And my motives matter. They matter a lot.  Why?  Because they reveal so much about the sin in my heart. 

If my motives are to draw attention to myself, then I am working for my own glory.  I am stealing glory from God.  Hurts a bit more when it’s phrased that way, right?  The Lord humbled me greatly by bringing that to my attention.  If I am working to further MY name, then I am not working to further His Name.  How wretched I am!  Like Paul, we can proclaim in all honesty, O wretched [wo]man that I am! Our actions, even if they can be holy, are easily tarnished by sin.  Who am I trying to glorify?  Who am I trying to honor? Am I caring for others to boost my reputation, or am I serving them because I am living by the Spirit to the glory of God the Father?  A question I must ask myself frequently is: would I do this as eagerly if it were not known by others?  Or is it only easy to serve and love others when everyone is watching?  Let’s be honest, it is what we do in private that reveals a great deal about the condition of our hearts. Am I dreaming of glorifying the Lord, and Him receiving due worship and praise, or do I long for my own praise and glorification? Am I working to make myself famous, or God??