One thing I love about being close to God is that I receive revelations in almost everything I do...even when I'm relaxing and watching a movie!
So today, I was watching Love & Basketball (this explains the GIF used above). It's a classic movie! I feel like almost everyone in the world has seen it. While I know a lot of people like to point their attention towards the dynamic of Monica and Q's relationship, I was moved by something else while watching this...
Of course, they both start out loving basketball. They both play it in high school, college, and even think about pursuing careers in it. But at the end of the movie, Monica returns to it while Q doesn't. Q told Monica at the end of the movie that 'it seemed like I only needed basketball when I was trying to be like my Pops. I was trying to be better than my Pops". That's when I received the revelation that in this life, our motives MATTER.
You see, Monica and Q pursued the same path, but with different motives. Monica had a true love for basketball. She was passionate and driven about succeeding in it. And even when she tried to step away from it, she still went back to it because she knew that her heart was still devoted to the game. Q's motive was completely different! He played the game to emulate his dad's legacy. His heart was never devoted to it. Even when he did continue to pursue it, he ultimately reached a point where he had no choice but to walk away from it (once he hurt his knee) cause it wasn't meant to be. While one's motive was solid, the other's was fragile and that's why there were two different outcomes in the end.
Can I tell you that we all do the SAME thing when it comes to following God's plans for our lives.
I truly believe that Monica succeeded in her pursuit because her motive was pure and devoted. However, Q's motive wasn't and his pursuit failed. This applies to you living your life in God's plan as well. God wants us to seek him and his will for our lives with a PURE heart and an honest motive. Why? Because with the right motive, we can succeed just like Monica did. When we have the wrong motive, we can get far, but we won't get to the final destination that God has for us. God's plan for you requires that your motive be correct, because if it isn't, you are basically forfeiting whatever God has for you.
A great Bible verse for this is James 4:3 where it says "When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."[NLT] If you keep wondering why you haven't gotten something that you want or that you've been praying for, it may be because your motive is in the wrong place. God is not gonna give you a job you ask for if you only want it to make a friend jealous. He's not gonna let you succeed in that music career if your reason for pursuing it is to be selfishly rich and not to give back to others. He won't bless you financially, if you give money to the less fortunate just to brag about it on Facebook.
Your motives MATTER! In everything you do!
If you don't take anything away from this post today, please remember this: everything you do should be with a good motive. Especially if you are a Christian, because everything we do should be in his image and bring glory to his name anyways! God never does anything with a bad motive...so neither should we!
I challenge you today to check your motives in things that you have been pursuing. Or in things that you are praying or hoping for. Are your motives pure? Or do you need to correct your motives? It's never too late to reflect and redirect.
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