THINKING ABOUT MOTIVES

Posted : Wednesday March 7, 2007 |

rev John C Julien Senior Pastor It’s hard to fully understand what drives us.
  • Immanuel Kant said it’s the “insatiable desire to possess and rule.”
  • William James said we’re driven by the need to gain, keep, or recover happiness.
  • Alexander Pope said that self-love is the “spring of motion.”
  • Former President Lyndon B. Johnson said, “Sex and envy are the greatest drives in life.”
  • Former President Nixon said, “People react to fear, not love. They don’t teach that in Sunday School, but it’s true.”
  • Maybe French Philosopher Francois de La Rochefoucald nailed it when he said that we would be embarrassed by our best deeds “if the world were to see all their underlying motives.”

Solomon wrote, “All of a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (Proverbs 21:2) This reminds us of Jeremiah’s words, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Maybe it’s time to stop trying to determine what motivates others. I have trouble reading the intentions of my own heart; how can I judge what drives someone else? When I try, I almost always get it wrong! And that usually creates unnecessary conflict—misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and distance between people. It rarely creates peace.

This is crucial as we begin a focus on “peacemaking” in our church. Judging the motives of others usually leads to “peace-breaking” or “peace-faking”. We either “go public” with our conclusion about someone else’s wrong motives, or we “go into hiding” about it. Either way we get off-track, instead of staying on the path of peace that the Gospel calls us to walk together as we follow Jesus. Let’s let love lead the way by assuming the best of others, not the worst. Our attention should not be consumed with “what’s driving him?” or “what’s driving her” — it should be directed to: “What’s driving me? Are the desires of my heart being molded into the desires of God’s heart?”

David’s prayer was “Create in me a pure heart, O God.” (Psalm 51:10) This came after a long season of deceiving himself and others — looking good but being bad. It came after an angry flash of judgment that “the man who did this deserves to die”, followed by a broken awareness that he was that man. He understood that he did not understand his own heart. He understood that he could not fix his warped motivations. He understood that his motives were a mixed bag — sometimes leading to greatness, sometimes leading to disaster — a bag held in the hands of his strong and loving Lord. And he understood that his heart needed to be made new — not just once but often — by the power of God’s mercy.

We can’t afford to waste our time second-guessing that which only the Lord can judge and only the Lord can change. Instead, let’s develop the habit of laying our own hearts on the altar, asking Jesus to redeem and purify our motives — and to use us in spite of who we are, not because of who we are. And let’s trust the Spirit of the Living God to do the same transforming work in our brothers and sisters. He has said He can, and He will. Isn’t it liberating that the Gospel that saves us is the same Gospel that changes us! My Father knows my motives and He knows yours. And He knows what to do about it.

Pastor John Julien