One can do the right thing for the wrong reasons.

One may give generously and still be driven by the desire to be praised. One can serve devotedly and secretly crave recognition. One can speak the truth, not because they love truth, but because they intend to embarrass someone with it. One can even do something that appears deeply spiritual while pursuing something entirely personal.

The action may be right, but the motive may be wrong.

What Is Motive?

A motive is the inward reason or intention behind an action. It is the ‘why’ beneath the ‘what’. This is where motive differs from desire:

Desire answers, “What do I want?”

Motive asks, “Why am I doing this?”

Two people can perform the same action while being driven by entirely different motives. One may give out of genuine compassion, while another gives because people are watching or because they expect some form of return.

1 Chronicles 28:9 says, “For the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.” God does not merely examine what we have done; He examines the intentions behind it.

Right Action, Wrong Intention

Jesus addressed this directly in Matthew 6. He spoke about giving, praying and fasting. These were good spiritual practices, yet He warned that even good practices can be corrupted when the desire for God's approval is replaced with the desire for human applause.

He said, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them” (Matthew 6:1). The problem was not the act of giving itself; the problem was the motive behind it.

Jesus goes further:

“Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward… But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:5–6).

The reward of wrong intention is often the very human applause it seeks; but the reward of right intention is divine approval. Paul echoes this when he writes, “For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:18).

Jesus was not teaching that good deeds must always remain invisible. He was confronting the desire to make human recognition the reward for spiritual activity.

This means we can give and still be feeding our ego. We can preach Christ and yet be quietly building a personal reputation. This is one of the great dangers of motive: a good action can become the servant of a wrong intention.

When Approval Becomes the Motive

One of the most common motives behind our actions is the desire for approval.

There is nothing wrong with appreciation. Everyone values appreciation and encouragement. The problem begins when approval becomes the controlling factor behind what we do.

I often examine my heart with questions like, “Am I doing this because I genuinely believe it is right, or because I want them to appreciate me?” “Do I truly want to help, or do I simply want them to think I am successful?” Each time I answer these questions honestly, I am able to reposition my heart.

This matters because, if we are not careful, decisions that should be governed by love, conviction, and obedience can gradually become governed by people’s opinions.

Paul writes, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? … for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

The issue is not that we should become careless about how we relate to people or completely indifferent to the impression we create. I strongly believe that perception matters; even Jesus asked, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matthew 16:13). The deeper issue is whether human approval has become more important to us than the desire to please God.

Dealing With Mixed Motives

We should also be honest enough to admit that our motives are not always completely pure or devoid of corruption. Sometimes they are mixed.

One may genuinely love people and still enjoy being appreciated. You may sincerely want to serve God while also struggling with comparison. We may honestly want someone to succeed while secretly hoping they do not surpass us.

Mixed motives do not always mean the action itself must stop. Rather, they reveal areas of the heart that still need to be purified. The goal is not to wait until every motive is flawless before doing what is right, but to keep allowing God to expose, correct, and cleanse whatever is mixed within us.

The Preacher says, “A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health” (Proverbs 13:17).

In other words, God does not require us to suspend every good work until every inward motive has been perfected. Rather, as we remain faithful in what He has entrusted to us, He continues to work upon us; purging what is impure, correcting what is mixed, and cleansing the heart from which our service proceeds (John 15:2).

Motive vs Method

It is important to distinguish between the motive behind an action and the method used to carry it out. A good motive does not automatically make every method acceptable.

When soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter, out of deep affection for Jesus, drew his sword and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his ear (John 18:10–11). The motive to defend Jesus was right, but the method of violence was in opposition to Jesus' willingness to fulfil the Father's plan.

A good motive does not automatically make every method acceptable. Someone may claim to be acting out of love while using manipulation, dishonesty, or coercion. Someone may say they want to protect another person while withholding the truth in a harmful way. A sincere intention does not turn a wrong method into a right one.

This is why our actions must be examined at more than one level:

• The action: What am I doing?
• The motive: Why am I doing it?
• The method: How am I doing it?
• The fruit: What is this producing in me and in others?

All four equally matter. The right motive should lead us towards methods and actions that are consistent with God's Word and the character of His person.

How to Examine Your Motives

Motive examination is not about becoming suspicious of every good thing you do. It is about learning to ask honest questions before God.

Here are some questions that can help:

1. What am I really seeking through this action?
Am I seeking to honour God, help someone, fulfil a responsibility, gain recognition, or prove something about myself?

2. Would I still do this if nobody knew about it?
The answer may not always be straightforward, but it can reveal how much recognition influences the decision.

3. How do I respond when someone else receives the credit?
Do I remain content, or do I become resentful when my contribution is overlooked?

4. What happens inside me when my efforts are not appreciated?
Disappointment is human. But does the lack of recognition make me question the value of doing what is right?

5. Am I willing to do this in a way that does not make me look important?
Can I serve quietly, share credit, or support someone else's work without needing to be at the centre?

6. Am I using a good action to secure something for myself?
Am I giving to create obligation, helping to gain control, or speaking truth to humiliate someone?

7. Can I surrender the outcome to God?
Can I obey faithfully even if the result is different from what I hoped for?

These questions are not meant to condemn us. They are meant to help us become honest.

And when an unhealthy motive is revealed, the response is not to abandon every good action. It is to bring the motive before God and allow Him to correct it. Sometimes the action should continue, but the heart needs to change. Sometimes both the action and the motive need to be reviewed. Discernment helps us recognise the difference.

Let God Examine the Why

One of the reasons we need God's help in examining our motives is that we are not always fully aware of what is happening within us. We can tell ourselves that we are acting out of love when we are actually seeking approval. We can believe we are defending truth when we are reacting from wounded pride.

We may sincerely believe our motives are pure and still be mistaken. That is why self-examination is not sufficient, but must be accompanied by humility before God.

David prayed in Psalm 139:23–24:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

David recognises that the inner person is not always a reliable interpreter of its own intentions, but identifies the mirror of God’s Word as the dependable revealer of intents (Hebrews 4:12).

James the Just writes:

“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was. But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:23–25).

The Word functions like a mirror. It does not merely show us what is around us; it reveals things about us. It exposes inconsistencies, confronts hidden motives, and shows us where our inner life is out of alignment with the truth.

But James goes further: the purpose of the mirror is not merely exposure, but transformation (2 Cor. 3:18). We are not meant to look, recognise what is wrong, and walk away unchanged. We are to continue in the Word until what it reveals begins to reshape how we think, desire, decide, and live.

The Motive God Desires

Paul says something striking in 1 Corinthians 13:3: “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor… and have not charity [love], it profiteth me nothing.” The verses that follow in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 give us a vivid picture of the kind of motive God desires.

Love changes the way we reason and, consequently, the reason we act. We serve because we care, not merely because we want recognition. We speak the truth because we desire what is right, not merely because we want to win. We give because we value people, not because generosity enhances our image.

Ultimately, spiritual maturity is not merely learning to do the right thing; it is learning to do the right thing from the right place. It is allowing love to become the governing motive behind our actions.

When love becomes the motive, obedience stops being performance and becomes the natural expression of a heart aligned with God.