Properly
Motivated
Search me, O God,
and know my heart;
Psalm 139:23
Arriving at the airport, Don swiped his
card at the kiosk, got his boarding pass, and headed for a seat,
intending to wait peacefully until he boarded the plane.
“Excuse me?” the attendant summoned
him. “I’m afraid you’ll have to check your bag,” she said,
pointing at his carry-on. “The plane you’re flying on is too
small for carry-ons.”
Frustrated, he placed the bag on the
scales.
“That’ll be twenty-five dollars.”
“What?! Why should I have to pay for
a carry-on because the plane’s too small?” he argued.
“I’m sorry, sir. Those are the
rules.”
He wanted to say Your rules stink!
but remembered he was wearing his organization’s tee shirt, their
insignia embroidered on the pocket. Keep your cool he told
himself, not wanting to give the well-known organization a bad name.
Reaching in his wallet, he paid the fee and had a seat.
Fifteen minutes later his name was
called over the intercom. When he got to the counter an apologetic
attendant said, “I’m sorry, sir, but you’ve been bumped from
the flight.” Before he could respond in frustration she continued,
“But we have these two three hundred dollar vouchers to make up for
the inconvenience.”
Returning to his seat, he thanked God
for the off-handed blessing. However, his troubles weren’t over
because when he arrived home, following an unexpected detour,
including an extra plane-change in Philadelphia, his bag had not made
the trip! Once again, he battled for composure. In that moment, he
heard God say, “I am pleased you held your tongue each time.
But…you should not need a logo on a shirt to remind you to act in a
godly manner.” OUCH! Feeling fairly chastised he gave the clerk his
address so his bag could be delivered to his home when it eventually
arrived.
†
David, in today’s text, knew he
wasn’t capable of an honest assessment of himself, so he asked God
to do the searching. We too, need God’s assistance in rooting out
improper motivation.
Many of us do the right thing for the
wrong reason. Although it’s a start, we need to examine our motives
for living a godly and obedient life, because why we do something is
as important as doing it.
Prayer
“Lord, help me to be
properly motivated in everything I do. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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