Motives...

Lately at my Sunday night Bible study we've been discussing controversial topics such as tattoos, drinking, etc. And while I don't want to talk about that tonight, I do want to talk about an issue that comes up a lot when discussing these topics. That issue is our motives. Relating to the world of purity, "why am I flirting with this guy?" or maybe "why am i wearing that revealing outfit?" or even "why am i dating this guy?"

I'm a penny-pincher, I do not like to spend my money. So I am very critical when I buy things. One of the first things I ask myself is why I need something or why I am buying it. I really exam my motives to decide if it's worth my time to spend my money on it. So today I ask myself, and all of you, what if we were as critical and inquisitive of why we are doing anything that relates to guys? What if we were to ask ourselves why we are talking to the guy in a manner that could be perceived as flirtatious? What if we went a step further and asked why we felt the need to flirt? Why are we doing the things we know could potentially hurt us?

When we take a step back and examine our motives, we often find that we are doing things for all the wrongs reasons. Examining your motives can keep you from doing things you will look back on and regret later in life. Sometimes the reason you are doing something is more important than what you are doing.

Like dating a guy. I once asked a friend why she cared so much about dating and she told me that dating to her was practice for marriage. I love this friend, but at the time she said that to me, she was in and out of a lot of relationships. When she told me that, all I could think was "so you're practicing divorce?" She didn't get deep with relationships, and I'm not saying she should have. But she didn't take her relationships seriously and if she decided one day she didn't like a guy, she broke up with him. Later on in life, she really began to examine her motives. She once confided that when she was going through boy friends like that, her real motive was a need to be loved, and she was looking for that love in the wrong place. You see, when she really examined her motives, it changed her entire way of looking at a dating relationship.

So I ask you today, what are your motives? Do your motives honor God?

Love, Kat