I Cor. 13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing”

As disciples of Jesus, everything we do needs to be motivated by love for others. It is not just enough to do “good“ things or to be “good” people. The world is full of people who do things that make them seem to be good on the outside. But there is a definite reason why our Lord God tells us that He is a God who looks not on outside appearances but on the hearts of men (I Sam 16:7). Many people may do what appears to be good but do it for selfish reasons. A man who truly cares who gives to the poor looks no different than a man who gives for the purpose of making himself look good. In both situations the poor are served and yet God does not honor the selfish heart. It is for that reason we must look to our motivation in all we do. Jesus, in Matthew 7, tells of a day when men who prophesied and cast out devils in his name were turned away because he “never knew them”. Surely from appearances, these men would have seemed to be “good”. But all the things they did amounted to nothing because they were not motivated by love.

Pray: “Dear Lord, let all that I do here be motivated by my love for you and for my fellow man. Do not permit me to act for appearance or ego sake, but in all things help me to have the heart my Savior had in all he did. Love is the key to everything, Father, and I want it to be the driving force in my life. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for helping me to make this a reality in my life…it is in your name that I pray - Amen.”