God’s weighs & our weighs..!

Let’s read Proverbs 16:2 & 1 Samuel 16:7b in tandem 

“All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord”

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”

God’s measuring/weighing scale is completely different to that of man. 

Man weighs the output more than the motive. God weighs the motive more than the output. 

The world can only recognise people’s achievements and never the intentions. From class grades at school to the highest civilian awards of a nation to the most famous international awards – all of them are based on what seems to be an OUTWARD ACHIEVEMENT. Did anyone ever get awarded for their unpractised good intentions? NO. People always get recognised only for their outward WORKS.

But God’s award & reward system works in exactly the opposite way. While people look at what you have or have not achieved, He looks at your heart. If you get carried away by the world’s award & reward system, you may never understand God’s ways in your life. 

Read Daniel chapter 1 – “..Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way”(vs8). Daniel’s view was not worldly. He did not get carried away by the outer appearance and appeal of the royal food and wine. His motive was to glorify God by not defiling himself with the ways of the world. God looked at Daniel’s heart and honoured his motive. “..At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food...”(vs15)

Does it mean that “motives” alone make us obedient children of God? Absolutely NOT. “...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17) Notice that Daniel put his motive to action by taking the ten day test of not eating the royal food and succeeded in doing so by God’s empowerment...!

Study the WORD to understand God’s heart; Understand God’s heart to have motives which are in accordance with God’s..!