Check Your Motives Here!

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs and tries the hearts."  Proverbs 21:2  The Amplified Version

Have you ever felt a "ping" in your heart or stomach when you say or do, or even think, something with a motive or intent of heart that might not be quite right?  For example, you might answer back on a Facebook page something that, if you were face to face with that person you'd never say what you just wrote.  At the time you wrote it, you got your point across, shut down the opposition, (so there!!!), said what you felt needed to be said at that moment.  But now you realize, after pressing the Post or Share button, that the cat's out of the proverbial bag and it's too late to take it back, it might not have been the wisest thing to say.  Especially since you're trying to be a better person, or you're a Christian and you're wanting to represent Jesus the best way you can, expressing your views might not have even come close to representing Him at all.

Or, maybe someone came to your door or place of business and tried to sell you something or talk about their religion and you blew them off as quickly as possibly, even going so far as lying if necessary, just to get them out of your face?  Maybe someone interrupted you with a phone call you really wished hadn't bothered you and you were less than kind on the phone to that person. (After all, you were busy, right?  Watching TV--your favorite show for goodness sake, and they have the nerve to call you in the middle of the best part!!)  Is it ok to be rude to others, no matter what the reason?

Do we ever act this way?

Well, I'm hoping that most all of us would say "No, it's never ok to be rude, even if they are rude to us."  But all too often, I've been guilty of all of the above, more than once I'm afraid, and I have a sneaky feeling I'm probably not alone.  Are you courageous enough to stand up with me and agree that at least once in your life you have had wrong motives for your behavior? C'mon, I know you're out there.  I'll stand with you, does that help?

For those of us who are Christians and consider Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, Soon-coming King, Creator of the Universe, Prince of Peace, and so on,  it is imperative that we pay attention to our behavior, our thoughts and words.  Some serious soul searching would be good here.  We are His representatives in this earth and no one will ever see Him for the awesome and loving God He is, unless we, His children, allow Him to be revealed through our lives every day, through good times and bad.  If we are behaving badly, how does that reflect on Jesus?

For those of us reading this post that have not yet made a decision to follow Christ, may I take this opportunity to sincerely and humbly apologize on behalf of those in the Christian community who have hurt you, offended and caused you to think less of Jesus because of their (my) behavior.  It is not His fault that we acted like Neanderthals or worse!  Our actions, or lack thereof, are attributable to a lack of total commitment to Him and refusal to give up doing things our way in certain areas of our lives.  (Basically, it's sin, but most of us don't want to think about that word.)

So, with that said, perhaps it would be good to take stock and seriously review our motives, intentions, and ask ourselves some questions:  "Why am I doing what I'm doing?" "Who benefits the most from the actions I'm taking or about to take--me or others--and is that a right thing to occur?"  "When I finish doing what I'm doing or wanting to do, what are the long term results likely to be?"  "Are those results benefitting more than just myself and/or the futures of my family and friends?"  If the answers you get, providing you were serious when you asked them, are not leaving you peaceful, perhaps you might want to stop... maybe pray about it first, until you do feel peace.
Motives, intentions of the heart, can make or break relationships and futures, let alone "presents", for good or ill.

"If you [profess ignorance and] say, Behold, we did not know this, does not He Who weighs and ponders the heart perceive and consider it? And He Who guards your life, does not He know it? And shall not He render to [you and] every man according to his works?"  Proverbs 24:12  The Amplified Version

The actions you take based on the intentions of your heart may have a profound effect on the lives of many people you didn't even think about, so check your motives and if they aren't good ones, the good news is you can change!