Let's Check Our Motives
TOM MILLER

“Perfunctory”. Now, there's a word for you.

A preacher friend of mine used it in a discussion we were having. He said, "I'm afraid that some of the things we do are being performed in a perfunctory way." He mentioned such things as reading our Bibles, praying, and attending services.

In case you don't know, the word means, "performed merely as an uninteresting or routine duty; mechanical, indifferent, careless, or superficial."

Is he right? I'm afraid he is.

"I want to be a regular Bible reader, so I'll read a few verses tonight. I won't think: about them or meditate upon them. I'll just read them quickly and be done with it." ...Perfunctory!

"I know I need to pray, so here goes. I'll quickly recite a few trite phrases. A prayer doesn't have to be eternal to be immortal; you know. Surely God will be pleased with me." ...Perfunctory!

"It's Sunday, and I guess I'll go to church. It's not that I really want to, but I know I should. I'll get there at the last minute and leave before the final 'amen' has been sounded, but at least I'll be there. I'll tell you one thing, the song leader and the preacher had better be good today, because I'm a little tired." ...Perfunctory!

Any of that sound familiar? Yeah, me too!

We go through the motions. We pride ourselves on doing the right things without ever examining our motives. This smacks of a "check list" mentality. We merely check things off without thinking much about them or caring about what we are doing, and we think God will be pleased with us.

Of some in His own day, Jesus said, "These people draw near to Me with their mouths, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" (Matt. 15:8).

God has always wanted us to do the right things, but He has also required us to do them for the right reasons. He is concerned about our motives, too. He wants no merely perfunctory worship or service. He wants true worship and service that is grounded in the Word and springs from the heart (John 4:24).

Our love for Jesus should motivate us to do the things He has asked us to (John 14:15; 2 Cor. 15:14). Realizing that we belong to Him should motivate us to do whatever we do heartily, because we do it to Him and not to men (Col. 3:23).

Let's check our motives and never slip into serving the Lord in a perfunctory way.

RESPONSIBILITY

We are found,
To find another;
We are told,
To tell another;
We are won,
To win another;
We are saved,
To save another