Molding our Motives

 Have you ever done something for someone and deep down you new that the only reason was to get something you wanted in return? Or... maybe it was to position your own agenda..... or to align a sequence of verbal or physical actions that move circumstances in your favor? I have.....I am guilty. I think if we were all honest about it....we are all guilty! If this is NOT the case, then I just revealed how dark, ugly and manipulative my thought process really can be to my viewers...and you are probably sitting there with an intensely wrinkled eyebrow thinking, "this man truly is a monster!" However, for hypothetical reasons, let's just go with this case being the mentality of the human majority.

  Let me give you a few examples just in case this is abnormal for your thought process.

• Have you ever gone to a certain function that you were not normally a fan of simply to win over a girl or guy.....and pretended to LOVE it? 

• Have you ever volunteered for long periods of time hoping to eventually receive something in return...like a paid position?  ...or maybe praise from your peers??

• Have you ever helped a friend only because you knew an event was coming up in the next couple weeks that you were going to need a baby sitter for....and you knew they would feel obligated?

• Have you ever asked friends to be praying about something you needed, only mentioning the "prayer request" to allow them to feel guilty enough to help you out?

• Have you ever given your spouse a back rub only anticipating your turn?

I'm sure that most of us can relate to at least one of these examples, if not all of them.

  It always seems that when we do this, more often than not, we generally do not get the outcome we desired- The girl/guy just wants to be friends or likes your brother/sister instead of you, the "sitter" already has something going on during the date of your event, your "prayer request" simply remains just that. Sometimes these attempts bear some fruit, but a lot of  the times we end up calling it quits, counting our losses and moving on. And even when we do get what we anticipated we generally feel manipulative, dirty and convicted.... And lucky to get a blessing from God.

  Now, of course, all this info is supposed to stay wrapped up tight in our thought life, never to be revealed, right? My intentions with this blog is not to condone these actions, but to reveal the heart of men and move towards God's forgiveness and grace so we may get to the root of the problem. And, I am also hoping that in the process we can all start to question our motives and attempt to honestly move towards godly character from the inside out. And just to clear the air, this blog is NOT intended to be a guilt trip. We all are in the same boat sinking without God's grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. However, if you do not have this relationship with the Savior, unfortunately you have no ammo in your gun. 

 Anyways, the first step is already out of the way, which was getting honest with yourself and revealing the sin for what it is. If we aren't able to acknowledge it as sin, or a problem then it is impossible to deal with it. If you think that these types of actions are acceptable.... then I guess you don't have a problem, right? But for those who really want to honor God with their life, we have hope of action and power to change through God's spirit. We need to WANT to change....we need to have a desire to live against our sinful nature and move towards Godly character.

  Secondly, we must go out of our way....seriously, this is hard work people! But yes, go out of your way to do things that are contrary to our own agenda or schedule. Do something for someone that has no "reward." Give your spouse a nice long massage, not allowing them to return the favor. Do great charity for certain people without letting anyone else know about your good deed. Yes, it will be hard to keep it in because we desire praise and approval from our friends and peers. But, can I tell you something?   

God    see's    you.

What more of a reward could we need? Can I tell you something else?

God   is   proud   of    you. 

God LOVES to see his children loving on people! Why? Because that is the very essence of His being, love! You are never more close to the Father then when you are loving on someone without motive. Or the only motive being that God has loved you and you are doing this charity in His name. If you can get to this point you have achieved great success. And, like anything in this life, it does get easier the more we do it.

Unfortunately......yes, the disclaimer! This is not something you do and then it's over. This has to be an ongoing process until the day you step into eternity. Which brings us to our third and final point in the "Molding our Motives" blog. We have to feed this godly desire. We have to constantly encourage this character and starve the selfish desires to live and operate only for our own agendas. This means, "more of you, and less of me" mentality. We can only feed this desire by staying in God's word and growing more intimate with our Creator through prayer, fellowship with those who encourage us in the faith and a lifestyle that honors God, which is worship by definition. Allow God's approval of you be all you need for self-worth. If you don't cinch up your relationship with him you will never accept his view of who you are.....which is- a son, daughter, a friend....One that he loves very dearly! Have you ever looked at your child or parent, spouse...or friend and thought,

       "I wouldn't want any other person to be my child / friend / parent / wife / husband than you! Give me all your imperfections, because      I      want      you!"

That is what God thinks of you...yes...YOU! To him, no one could take your place! To God, you are perfect! He has made you perfect....Perfect! Righteous in his eyes through the death of his Son, our savior.

Perfect.

 The thing that should encourage us the most to move in a direction of having selfless motives and a Christ centered thought life is simply knowing who we are to our Creator. When we choose to do things for others without reward... let knowing that we are sharing in the character of Christ be the fuel that allows us to give unrewarded charity with joy! On the other hand this must always be done with a humble heart knowing that the temptation of pride is waiting to devour us. Our battle against the flesh rages until life ends on this side of eternity....and so we press on!!

  I pray that this blog was helpful to you...and was encouraging to you in helping you mold your motives.