There is a motive behind everything we say or do. Even if not consciously aware, we’re impelled by our subconscious mind to speak or act. Nonetheless, hindsight always reveals it.
By understanding why you say what you say, and what you do what you do, you can align your motives with the proper motive. In this context, proper means absolute, meaning it’s free from imperfection. It reflects one great goal in life, one all-consuming passion. When you are driven by this, your motive is pure and justified.
So what is it?
To glorify God by speaking only what He tells you to speak and doing what only He directs you to do. To be more concerned for His glory than your glory or anything else. That overriding pursuit will free you to say only what needs to be said when it needs to be said. You’ll become a person of fewer words, but when you speak, they will have more impact and influence.
This is easier said than done (pun intended). However, if you’re interested in developing the awareness to reveal and change your motives, then kindly keep reading. You can train yourself to acquire the skill.
This type of training is conducted in your mind gym. It starts with your mind. You have to develop habits that feed your “good wolf” and starve your “evil wolf” (reference: The Tale of Two Wolves). You must develop habits that seek God’s glory, not your own, to free you to say what needs to be said and constrains you from saying what doesn’t, at least not yet. You will learn to trust God to glorify you, which includes trusting God to settle the score with others who hurt you. Without this trust, you would otherwise be motivated by revenge, bitterness or envy. Through your training, your motives will become properly aligned with God’s will.
When the primary pursuit is your glory, what others think will dictate your words and actions. One of the great freedoms of training to pursue God’s glory is the freedom of the tyranny of pursuing our own, which is when proper motive is revealed.
MindWolves 