Proverbs 16:2
You may believe you are doing right, but the Lord measures the motives.
Why do you do what you do? Anything that you do?
This is what God looks at more than what you do.
In any decision or action, ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing. This gives a greater clarity to your motivations and decision making.
Why do you discipline your children?
Why are you buying a new house?
Why do you workout?
Why do you go to work?
Why do you eat what you eat?
Why do you give that organization money?
Why am I annoyed with people?
Why do you send that email of Scripture every morning?
Why do you celebrate Christmas?
Why do I help people?
Why do you go to small group?
Why do you watch Netflix?
Why do you have such a huge Star Wars collection?
As far as anything we are unhappy with, I venture to say that if we asked why enough times to get to the root of it, we would find, every time, that it is due to selfish desires & self-centered false expectations of life. That’s when “metanoia”, or a change of vision for the kingdom, comes in.
What if the why of all we did was for the love of God & love of others? What if His love was the end of all we did and thought?
If everything we did was born out of a motivation of the love of Jesus?
Here’s a TedTalk on the power of Why > http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html
John 9:39-41
Spiritual enlightenment comes from total dependence on God for it.
If you think you have any spiritual insight into God without it coming directly from Him, then you are most blind.
It is only those who have truly opened themselves to God, the Holy Spirit’s teaching, who are able to see. The ones who have admitted blindness and that their only hope of seeing is God’s healing & awakening, it is they who have the sharpest of vision.
Thinking you know, without God-given insight, thinking you know through keeping God’s law, through reading the Bible without listening to the Spirit during, makes you the most blind of all,
because your “knowing” comes via your own pride. We are Spirit-led, not Bible-led. We can hear the Spirit via the Bible, which is why we read the Bible. We don’t read the Bible to amass knowledge, or to build a case against what or who we don’t like. We read it to listen, learn, & obey.
It is only in humility and openness of heart in which we will be able to truly see.