1 Timothy 1:5 ESV
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
When it comes to making decisions in our business lives, we may all believe in our hearts that we know the motives behind those decisions. Why wouldn’t we? We have done the R&D, we have looked at the budget, and, like all good business owners, we have done our due diligence! Well, I would like to let you in on a little secret. No matter how many steps you have taken beforehand, I can guarantee you haven’t added motive as part of your business strategy.
Would you say that God is an integral part of your business? If He is, then running your business from a pure heart is essential. This means checking your motives. Think back to the money changers at the temple. It was common practice for this sort of business to be going on at the temple, and when it first started, there was a pure motive. The motive was to help people in their worship of God. But as time went on, it became corrupt. Jesus, in His purity, could not stand for the corrupt motives that crept over the money changers.
Motives are one of the hardest things to decipher. There are many layers to each one of our motives, such as allowing “the norm” to infiltrate (like what happened with the money changers in the temple), our comfort level, our lust, our greed, and more. Unfortunately, most of these layers are buried so deep inside us that we are blind to them affecting us.
Occasionally, I get this vision of having a red light on my forehead that flashes every time my motives become impure. Yes, I still have human motives that raise their ugly heads when I try to make pure decisions. This is part of walking out the journey. I often wonder if that red light really existed, would it help me to take more time deciphering why I’m choosing to do certain things, or would I just become desensitized to it being there.
We have something better than a red light. We have the Holy Spirit to alert us to our motives. He is always there, ready to help, but we must invite Him in as our counselor, mentor, and coach. Take the time in your decision-making process to truly listen and hear the guidance that is above all human efforts. You will find that things will go well with you and your company.
