Original Entry: June 11, 2008
McMinnville, OR
Who may
ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may
stand in his holy place? He who has
clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear
by what is false. He will receive
blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Psalm 24:3-6
I wash my
hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord. Psalm 26:6
If I were
brutally honest I would admit to you that much of what I have done in the past
is because of my ego. I would like to
say that I am humble but the truth is that pride motivates me to do many things
I would otherwise neglect. Pride also
prevents me from attempting things I would otherwise try.
Whether it
be hunting, fishing, sports, my boys, my wife, and sadly at times, even my
devotional life are at times conduits for me to boast. Worse, it is often pride
that prevents me from attempting new and exciting ventures.
What if I fail?
What if I
make a fool of myself?
What if I
cannot support my family?
For
whatever reason, men are masters at hiding the true motives of their actions
from others.
The
motivations of a man (in this case mine) are often much different than what we
see in his public actions. It is not only possible, but probable, that what a
man sees in another man is far from the true motivation of his heart.
Paul
questioned, “For who among men knows the
thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him” (1 Corinthians 2:11)?
Why do men pray? Even our prayers must be
put in check. “When you ask, you do not
receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on
your pleasures” (James 4:3).
The only pure motivation for anything is
to be completely devoted to God with the only purpose in life being to please
our King. “Clean hand and a pure heart” produce an inner satisfaction rather
than public awareness. When Pontius
Pilate washed his hands of Jesus he was proclaiming his innocence (Matthew
27:24). It seems then that to have “clean hands” is to be free of a guilty
conscience. Often times I find myself
doing certain spiritual things because the consequences if I fail to do them
are worse than if I do. Other times I
find myself seeking Christ out of a guilty conscience or in response to
personal sin. To pursue “clean hands” is to commit to a life
motivated from our innocence not our guilt.
A “pure heart”, on the other hand, has no
other desire but to “seek your face”
(Psalm 24:6). The pure heart is the
private heart. The pure in heart do not
seek personal recognition or the awareness of men. To have
a pure heart is to have a shut mouth. How many times do we open our mouths
in order to have other men stand and clap?
The one who deserve applause is not the one who is receiving it but the
one whose pure heart chooses to remain anonymous-silent.
Men, check
you motives. Is there any thing in your life that is motivated by the wrong
things?
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your
heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will
receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are
serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).
