What Motivates You?


What Motivates you?

So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?” Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’” - 2 Samuel 1:5-8 For the past few days I have been looking at why we do what we do. So many times we do things that appear to be good things but for all of the wrong reasons. An example. You say that you wish to share your gifts, talents and or resources with someone or a particular group. You come across as being loving and concerned. Then you find out that the people that you are reaching out to won’t get you a lot of recognition. Or, maybe because a member of the group upset you. You then decide to take your ball and play elsewhere. They hurt your feelings or you aren’t getting the spotlight that you think that you so deserve. Were you really looking at ministering or being seen? I see this so many times and in so many places. Folks don’t want to serve in sincerity. It’s about them being seen in some special light. We want God to bless us but we have already placed flowers on ourselves by broadcasting every time that we serve others.. “Pat me on my back or I won’t be back.” In the text, David wanted proof that Saul and Jonathan were dead. He was not going to just take the word of a stranger. Then, he found out the stranger was an Amalekite. He identified himself, “I am your enemy. I am an Amalekite.” He had just defeated the Amalekites, because they had raided his town and taken the women, children and everything they owned. Somehow this man had escaped David’s destruction, and he just happened to come upon the spot where the Philistines had defeated Israel. It would not be a coincidence for this man to come upon Saul and Jonathan. In all likeliness, he was going through the bodies to take anything of value and he came upon Saul and Jonathan. He thought he would be rewarded for bringing the news to David, even though he had done wrong. Listen, when we do things with the wrong motives, we are setting ourselves up for failure. It is always best to do the right thing for the right reason, than the wrong thing (which looks right to you) for recognition. It is said that the test by which all conduct must finally be judged is “motive”.

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