GOD LOOKS AT THE MOTIVES OF OUR HEARTS

Imagine living in this world with only one language and culture, and there are no international borders. We don't need translations, and we can live wherever we want. My father-in-law and mother-in-law do not speak English well, and so every time I visit them, I always have difficulty communicating with them since I cannot speak Chinese. I ended up using Google Translate to speak with them, but it doesn't work every time because Google Translate cannot translate how I feel. I tried learning Chinese, but there are tones that my tongue is having difficulty making. If I don't make the tones of a word, it changes the meaning of the word that I am trying to say. After the universal flood during Noah's time, people lived with one language and culture. They didn't have language barriers; everybody could speak and understand each other. They were so unified that they all decided to build a tower that would reach into the sky. Genesis 11:3-4 says, "They began saying to each other, 'Let's make bricks and harden them with fire.' (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) Then they said, 'Come, let's build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.'"

They wanted to build a tower that reaches into the sky for two reasons: to become famous and to prevent them from scattering to the other parts of the world. Building the tower was not the issue in this story, but the problem is their motive in building the tower. Their motive in building the tower is to make a name for themselves; in other words, they want to glorify themselves. And the other motive is not to scatter to the other parts of the world. Both of their motives were against God's will. God knew that if the people continued to glorify themselves more than they glorify Him, it would lead them again to complete rebellion against Him. In addition, staying in one place was not God's will. God told Noah to repopulate the earth (Genesis 9:1). God wanted them to scatter to every part of the world. As a result, God had to intervene. People had two choices in life, as we learn from God's Word: we either glorify God by submitting to His will or we rebel against Him and suffer the consequences of our actions. 

We are either for God or for ourselves, and the motives of our actions show which we belong to. If our motive in everything that we do is to glorify God, we will enjoy God's presence in our lives; however, if we decide to live our own ways, we will suffer the consequences of our actions.  

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) Does God look at what I do, or does He focus on why I do it? Does God accept my good works even if my motivation for doing them is to glorify myself? What is my motive in doing good?

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for reminding me today that my motives in my heart are more important than the good works that I do. Please forgive me if my motives have been wrong. Please change my heart so that I can have the right motive before you. Please help me to honor and glorify you in everything that I do. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.