What’s Your Heart-Motive?

‘...by Him actions are weighed.’ 1 Samuel 2:3 NKJV

The story’s told of a lady who answered the knock on her door and saw a man with a sad expression. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you,’ he said, ‘but I’m collecting money for an unfortunate family in the neighbourhood. The husband is out of work, the kids are hungry, the utilities will soon be cut off, and worse, they’re about to be kicked out of their apartment if they don’t pay the rent by this afternoon.’ With great concern the woman said, ‘I’ll be happy to help. But who are you?’ He replied, ‘I’m the landlord.’ Clearly, this man was more concerned with his own interests than with anyone else’s. What he was doing was not illegal, but it was wrong. Under the pretence of serving, he was self-serving. Hello! What’s your heart-motive? The Pharisees prayed, fasted and gave money to the poor, but they did it to impress others. So Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired…for you will lose the reward from your Father in Heaven…When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them…’ (Matthew 6:1-5 NLT) Then Jesus said, ‘…let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.’ (Matthew 5:16 NLT) You’re supposed to make God look good-not yourself. Check your heart-motive; are you doing a good thing with a bad motive? ‘The Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.’