What's Your Motive?

Today's Reading: Isaiah 58:6-12

Motives can be tricky things. In crime dramas, they seek to identify motives for the crimes committed. In our relationships, we often make faulty assumptions about others' motives. In this passage, Isaiah challenges us to examine motives.

We see God calling His people to task. The chosen were puzzled by the fact that God was not pleased with them. They thought they were doing what was necessary to get His attention. They were busy doing the next thing without setting their hearts on the right thing.

Isaiah reminds us that our actions - even holy ones - need to flow from a pure heart. That was tough for the Israelites. They were so focused on performing "holy" actions that they forgot to act with love. Ouch! That rings a bell with me. How about you?

As usual, God does not leave us in our brokenness. Patiently, the Father explained to His people that He would draw close to them if they would humble themselves. This ancient reality is still true today. The Master can purify our motives when we humble ourselves before Him.

I am certainly not an expert when it comes to pinpointing motives, but I know Someone who is. Jesus sent Him to help us. Today, let's ask the Holy Spirit to clean out our hearts so that we can clean up our act.

- Kathleen Gray