Leave the Why with God
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
Looking at motives is a murky business for all but
God.
Leave the Why with God
by A. A. Neale
Police won't say why they think Scott Peterson
killed his wife and unborn child, but behind every
good detective work is the exploration of why
someone commits a crime.
Motives do matter (Jas. 4:3). The "why" word
starts at an early age and takes in greater life
questions as the decades roll by.
The legal courts consider that evidence can be
gathered to establish the reason why a crime is
committed. Based on evidence of a motive, a person
can be convicted and punished severely.
Involuntary manslaughter, for example, carries a
lesser punishment than murder, all because of the
motive behind the taking of a person's life.
A Different Story, Spiritually
Perhaps that's fine and good for secular courts,
but it's a dangerous thing for Christians to try,
whether it's justifying my own motives or
condemning my neighbor's. (Those seem to be the
two tendencies.) The Bible says repeatedly that
only God can read the thoughts and intents of the
heart (Heb. 4:12). "All the ways of a man are
clean in his own sight, But the Lord weighs the
motives" (Prov. 16.2, NASB).
I figure it this way. It's in the area of motives
that separates (or fails to separate) the wheat
from the tares (see Matt. 13:24-30). The Bible is
clear that for sinful behavior the sinner must be
excluded from the communion of the saints. But
since we can't judge a person's heart, we have no
business trying to remove those whom we think may
be "doing church" (what a horrible phrase!) for a
hypocritical or base reason. Now, eventually, such
an inner evil will probably be found out by
resulting in sinful behavior, and then it should
be dealt with. But we might just imagine a person
who is a saint with a capital "S" on the outside,
but whose heart and soul are as rotten as Satan
himself. God will take care of him.
People might even tell us what their motives are,
but we still can't be 100% sure, since we don't
know if they're telling the truth. And some folks
might even think they're telling the truth about
their motives, when they don't know themselves
well enough to truthfully say what makes them
tick.
Having said all of that, Jesus reminds us in his
Mountain Sermon to judge a tree by its fruits.
Most likely "fruits" here refer to teachings and
behaviors, and we must pinpoint who's a "pig"
before casting pearls of the gospel out into the
world. Those things, doctrine and conduct, are
objective enough to serve as indicators of
faithfulness.
In the Meantime
So what do we do in the meantime, as we wait for
God to reveal all our hearts' deepest secrets?
First, let's teach right motives, pointing out
what the Lord finds acceptable and what he
approves of.
Second, let's pray for better self-understanding
and meditate on Scripture that we might identify
where we need to shore up good motivations and
change out bad ones.
Third, let's dwell upon the love and goodness of
God, especially as we see them in Jesus Christ.
Nothing will help good motives like the cross.
Fourth, let's be glad of right conduct, even if it
springs from wrong motives. So says the
magnanimous apostle Paul, "But what does it
matter? The important thing is that in every way,
whether from false motives or true, Christ is
preached. And because of this I rejoice" (Phil.
1:18).
Fifth, let's recognize that some sinful conduct
shows bad motives. James said to mean-spirited
Christians, "have you not made distinctions among
yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?"
(Jas. 2:4). This doesn't diminish the admonition
against judging of motives, but it does associate
deliberate sinful behavior with evil motives.
Sixth, let's show ourselves as Christians of pure
motives by our exemplary imitation of the Lord (2
Cor. 1:12; Thes. 2:3). People will be assured of
our good motives by consistent, faithful,
unselfish service.
I'll work on my motives, and leave yours to the
Lord.
"Therefore do not go on passing judgment before
the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will
both bring to light the things hidden in the
darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts;
and then each man's praise will come to him from
God" (1 Cor. 4:5).