Motives that kill selfishness

Scripture Read: Romans 15:15-21 But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. 18 For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, 19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; 21 but as it is written, “They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard shall understand.”

Application: It is amazing how much our flesh can sneak into the spotlight of our life without us even knowing it. Many things that may appear good and properly motivated, when looked at through the microscope of the Holy Spirit and the scriptures, can expose elements of the flesh in our lives. This passage does that. Is it wrong to want to please God? The obvious answer is…no, but perhaps the real question should be after God who do I desire to please? First and foremost we should desire to please You Lord, but if we are honest is our next drive is that the pleasure we bring You serves us? Paul gives us the example of a person that has motives that flow from You. It amazes me how “other oriented” Paul was. We all should want to become more Christ-like – but many times if we are honest we want it so we will please God and that will be to our benefit. That is not wrong, but could it be that, like Paul, if we desire to please You so You could use it to bring others to You first, our motives would become more pure? It is hard Lord to keep self-serving motives out of our life. By seeking to please you and see that used to impact others will produce a motive that is selfless. Let us be like Paul – his first concern after Christ is that whatever good or bad is happening to him will cause others to know Christ! Lord create in us that kind of heart! 

* Meditation Questions: Have you ever had something bad happen to You and you felt resentment because you were walking close to God when it happened? How much do you think your works effects God’s love toward you? When you follow God’s lead do you consider all the people it will impact? How much time do you spend thinking about you? What does that say?