1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. -1 Corinthians 13:1-3

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We can do all these things for God or for others, but if our actions are not backed by love, then it’s meaningless.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a Harvesters leader, on your church’s praise team, or even a pastor.  If how you serve others is not motivated by love then it is just empty noise.

For those of us who are serving or who have some type of leadership role at church, we need to examine our own hearts.  In prayer, we need to ask God to reveal our true motivations and ask Him to help us surrender our ulterior motives to God.

To be fair, we know that while on earth we will always have to wrestle with our motivations.  Nothing we do will ever be 100% pure.  But our desire should be to strive for a purity of heart and that can only happen through time with Jesus.  He reveals to us our selfish wants, forgives us, heals us, and frees us.

In what ways are you serving others these days?  Are your actions out of love or out of some self-serving motive?