In doing a personal ministry check-up, it isn’t enough to make sure we have the right message. We also need to check our motives, to make sure we’re coming alongside of people for the right reasons. We can learn from the Apostle Paul’s example.
For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed – God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. (1 Thess. 2:3-6a)
Check Your Motivation to Make Sure It’s Pure
We have pure motives in ministry when we do what we do because we love the Lord with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength which spills over into loving people (Lk. 10:27). Impure motives come when we put anything or anyone, including ourselves, above the Lord. When, however, we put our “all” into loving God, there’s no room for selfish ambition. He’s the One who gets the glory, not us (Ps. 115:1). It’s His agenda we seek, not our own. It’s His approval that matters, not people’s (Gal. 1:10).
Think about it: We serve the Almighty God, the One of whom there is none greater. Shouldn’t everything be centered around Him. Who are we to claim that which belongs to Him? Who are we that we would seek to draw attention to ourselves rather than the One who can truly make a difference in people’s lives? — “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Cor. 3:7)
How to Safeguard Your Motives
Paul kept his motives pure by looking at ministry as a heart issue, not merely tasks to be accomplished. He knew God “tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4b) for “the Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7).
So, “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4:23). Remember, “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Lk. 6:45). Take great care to sow good into your heart.
For more about the role of the heart in ministry, read the following: