There is an episode of “Friends” (The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS, Season 5, Episode 4) where Phoebe and Joey have a bet—that Phoebe cannot do one thing that somehow, in some way, does not ultimately benefit her or make her feel good. Joey maintains there is no such thing as a “selfless good deed”—that at the root of every act of kindness, is a selfish motive. The episode is hilarious, but it does cause you to look inside, to turn the flashlight on, to peer into the deep recesses of the caverns of your heart and ask, “Why in the world, did I do what I just did?”
This past weekend at church, commenting about how much he liked the singing, the speaker said in passing, “I really love the worship team, I love the purity of their hearts….” Like Robin Hood’s arrows zinging to their mark, those innocent words hit home and with an explosion of understanding, I knew in the twinkling of a moment, that my motives, maybe, not so much.
Motives. Sticky little things, aren’t they?
We’ve all seen it, haven’t we? Whether it’s a song leader, a speaker, a celebrity, or even ourselves as we watch our lives in the mirror of our minds, say or do something that we immediately wish we could retract, take back. Not because it’s awful, or mean, or even evil, but because it stinks with the stench of “goody-two-shoes,”—that nauseating knowledge that you just made yourself look good. Did you hear the falling brick land with a ‘thump’ when it hit the bottom of your stomach? I know I have and do.
Self!
“Self” left unchecked, however, doesn’t stop there. Its roots go deep, turning up and surprising us when we least expect them, coming to light in the everyday rigmaroles of life. The fruit we may see in our lives becomes, more often than not:
a lack of love,
no joy,
a lack of peace,
impatient,
unkindness,
meanness,
unfaithfulness,
harshness,
lack of self-control,
A Truly Downward Spiral that lands us in the desert of our souls.
Jesus says in Luke 9: 23 ESV “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and daily follow me.” Maybe one of the many different meanings this verse holds is that we would take “self” off the throne of our hearts, letting Jesus sit down, take over and take control. What we would ultimately experience would be far different from what was happening before. There would be:
Love,
Joy,
Peacefulness,
Patience,
Kindness,
Goodness,
Faithfulness,
Gentleness,
Self-control
The world feels as if it is spinning off its axis. The rampage of violence, hate, and meanness is out of our control bringing us, if we let it, to helplessness and hopelessness.
I can’t fix the world. I can’t right the wrongs. I can’t make people stop hurting one another. The one thing I can do though, is to bring my own motives and myself to God’s throne of Grace.
~Pray for the people of Paris.
~Pray for our world.
~Pray for each other, that “self” would fall to the wayside.
~Pray for the young men and women who have joined with terrorists that God would open the eyes of their hearts to see that what they are doing is not of Him.
My daughter’s sister-in-law recently posted this on her Facebook page. I think it is absolutely perfect.
“Work Hard,
Stay Sweet,
Trust God,
Love Deep”
With love,
Kimberly
