“...it is not self-seeking...” -1 Corinthians 13:5
For the past couple of days we’ve been talking about how love looks away from the self toward others. This is what it means to say that love is not self-seeking.
As a Christian, this is one of the most difficult things for me to practice. Because of my sinful nature, almost anything that I do is tainted with ulterior motives. It’s so easy for pride or self-gain to seep into even the most altruistic and seemingly selfless act. The Bible actually says that even our best deeds are like filthy rags before God. It’s because our hearts are inherently selfish and always seeks to glorify itself.
Part of being a Christian is to tease out and recognize the selfish motives behind your actions. This takes a lot of time with God because we’re good at deceiving ourselves. We lie to ourselves about our motives and our agendas. But when we spend time with God, His light brings to the surface all our ulterior motives and selfish intentions. It’s super uncomfortable, but also incredibly freeing.
Once our selfish motives are recognized, we can lift them up to God for forgiveness and cry out to Him for help. And God listens to our prayers and begins to help us purify our motivations. As long as we live on a fallen world, our actions will always be tainted with selfishness, but hopefully as we grow in faith, that taint becomes less and less. Our motivations become more and more pure.
Are you talking with God about your motivations? Can you pray this prayer to God:
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. -Psalm 139:23
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