Motivation Matters

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:3

Christmas of nineteen ninety-six was shaping up to be a lean one. It was early in my and Gwen’s marriage, and finances were tight. We’d scraped together enough money to make sure that our son, Colin, got a few presents, but that was about it. Our parents were aware of the state of our finances, but we’d done our best to keep it to ourselves, making especially sure not to say anything around Colin because we didn’t want him to worry about us at Christmastime. We were cautious in shielding him from our financial reality, or so we thought.

We gathered at my parent's house on Christmas morning for our annual family gift exchange and noticed an enormous gift under the tree with no name on it, which we assumed was something my folks had gotten for Colin as a surprise. As was our family tradition it was the job of the youngest to pass out the presents and it was a joyous experience to watch Colin happily pass out the gifts one by one until only the big present was left. We were surprised when Colin brought that last gift to us with a huge smile on his face. By this time, we knew something was up because everyone was smiling and watching us, but no one was saying anything. We were so surprised when a bunch of helium balloons came floating out of the box, each with money tied to its string! Colin danced around the room shouting, “It worked, it worked!” He had saved up his allowance to create this gift and his only stipulation was that we couldn’t spend it on bills or groceries but on something fun for just the two of us. I can’t tell you how much money was in that box—I don’t remember—but I will never forget the love and joy of the little boy who gave it to us.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes a lot about gifts, Spiritual Gifts to be precise. God had given the people of the Corinthians many gifts; unfortunately, they used them for all of the wrong reasons. God had given them these gifts to build each other up and bring more people into the salvation that Christ offered, however, they chose instead to glorify themselves. Paul makes it clear in this passage that our motivations matter. Our “good deeds” don’t impress God, the condition of our hearts is what matters most to him! The Lord doesn’t need us to accomplish his will, he allows us to serve him for His glory and the transformation of our hearts. As we enter this season of giving, may we do so with the heart of Jesus.

In Christ’s Love,

Mike