"Pure Motives"

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments."  Matthew 6:5; 23:5

Jesus warned that you can do the right thing yet with the wrong motive.  The Pharisees did the right thing-- they prayed, they gave alms, they did religious works.  But the true motive of their hearts was not to glorify God, but to glorify self.  They wanted to be seen by men.  They wanted the honor.  They wanted the applaud.  They wanted others to notice them.  They wanted others to follow them.  

We must be careful that we don't do the same thing.  We have to guard against doing the right thing with the wrong motive.  We have to check our motives because our hearts are deceitfully wicked.  We can think we are doing the right thing for the right reason and not be. 

Many ministers have fallen into this trap.  They are doing the works but their motives have turned inwardly.  They started out with good intentions and sincere motives but somewhere along the way their motives changed.  They aren't building God's kingdom, they are building their own.  They are building a reputation for themselves.  They are building their own following.  It is easy for this to happen to any of us because of the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life and the lusts of the eyes that we have to constantly war against.  I remember years ago when my daughter was little, I went to a parent's meeting.  She stayed with my mother-in-law while I went.  I stayed at the meeting longer than I should have.  My mother-in-law had to work the next day.  So when I went to pick my daughter up, my mother-in-law was in bed, my daughter was asleep on the couch and my father-in-law was sitting up waiting for me to come.  I felt really bad for imposing on them.  When I prayed, I said an extra prayer that the Lord would bless and strengthen my mother in-law for work the next day.  The Lord spoke to me strongly.  He said-- "You aren't praying sincerely for her, you are praying because you feel bad and guilty for keeping her up".  Right thing to do-- pray; but, wrong motive. 

Keep a check on your heart.  Ask Holy Spirit to show you your own heart.  Ask Him to show you your motives behind what you do, especially for Him and His Kingdom.  Ask Him daily to purify your motives.  Ask Him to cleanse your heart from all unrighteous motives and create a heart that truly and solely is intent on glorifying Him.

Have a great day.  You may be doing the right thing, but is your motive correct.