Good deeds must have good motives

Good deeds must have good motives

In a previous post ( Developing a heart that rejoices - Part 2 ) we talked about doing good and then rejoicing in the good we have done. In this post we are going to fine tune that a little further. We need to make sure that each good action also has a good motive.

Philippians 1:15

15  Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will

In the scripture above a good thing is being done. Christ being preached is a good thing. But notice how the verse shows that a good thing can be done with pure motives or it can be done out of selfish motives. So this tells us that we must always attach a good motive to a good action.

We are warring against our sinful nature. As a result it can be very easy to start doing a good thing with pure motives and then drift over to selfish motives. I need to do something to help keep those selfish motives under control. My friend gave me a picture of Jesus smiling and I put it by the front door where I see it all the time. If I am going to show someone a kindness I try to wait before I go outside. I pause and look at that smile and say I will do this to please God and I will do this to show kindness to this person. It doesn't take long. Just take a moment to do some self talk and it will help you keep on the right track.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)