Love Your NeighborSample

Checking Motivations

Why do you do the things you do?

It’s an important question to consider in just about any aspect of your life. But when it comes to loving your neighbors? It’s an even more vital question to ask.

For believers, the answer always comes back to Jesus. We love our neighbors because we seek to follow Jesus’ example and because we bring God glory when we show others His love.

That’s the answer. But often, if we’re truthful with ourselves, it’s not the whole answer. Sometimes, we love our neighbors because we think that’s what we’re supposed to do as Christians. Or because we’re seeking approval or praise. Or because we feel guilty for something we’ve done.

Now, you might think, “Is my motivation really that big of a deal? As long as I’m loving my neighbors, isn’t that the important thing?”

Loving our neighbors is incredibly important, but so is our motivation for doing so. God cares about our hearts—and when we do something on His behalf, commitment matters. We see how seriously He takes this issue in the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 4-5.

Around the time the church was getting its start, a man named Barnabas sold some property and donated the money from the purchase to the church. When word got around of Barnabas’ generosity, Ananias and Sapphira wanted in on some of that praise. They sold some property and gave all of the money to the church, too.

That’s what they told the disciples, at least. But in reality, they withheld some of the money from the sale for themselves. When Peter asked them to tell the truth, they committed to their lie. And then they paid the price for it.

God takes our motivation seriously. We need to be honest—with ourselves and with Him—about why we do the things we do. There are high stakes involved when it comes to loving our neighbors. Trying to love someone with the wrong motivation can negatively affect both you and the person you’re trying to help. It might even put up an obstacle between them and God. By telling God what’s on our hearts and working to align our motivation with God’s, we’ll grow in loving others like Jesus.

Consider: What are your motivations for caring for your neighbors? Talk to God about why you want to take this step and ask Him to show you if there are any ways your motivations can better align with His.