DAY 8 – The Strong Pull of Motivation | 21-Day Devotional on Jesus’ Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5:8, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 

All the Beatitudes are lessons in basic living and possessing core character attributes. Being “pure in heart” is essentially operating with good and godly motivations, which answers the question: “Why am I doing what I do?”

We are all motivated by something: Items such as the desire for money, security, fame, fear of rejection, adoration, being helpful, controlling others, fulfilling a “hidden agenda,” pleasure, or other motivations. The whole reason for being a Christ follower and becoming a “new creation in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17) is to experience a change of heart and motivation. In Christ, motivations should revolve around pleasing God, learning His ways, handling our responsibilities, loving/serving people, and doing His will as we understand it.

As a 19 year old, before becoming a Christ follower through the “new birth” at age 21, my motivation was to go to church, not to hear the Word and grow in Christ, but to see young ladies and “hang out.” We now call that behavior “church-wise,” which was akin to being “street-wise” – knowing just enough to “get over” and survive, but not to change for the better. 

I was not pure in heart, and did not fool discerning adult believers who were paying attention. All that changed on July 8, 1978 when I had a genuine encounter with the risen Christ! (No time to share details here). All of the Beatitudes, which I had heard, but did not understand, became reality in my life.

The Greek word for pure is katharos (καθαρός). It is defined as: Clean, free from corrupt desire, sincere, genuine, blameless, innocent.

Nothing in us, apart of Christ, can achieve purity. That is not to say that people cannot be good and productive, but there are things only God can do with the human heart.

Again, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” 

It is not that God forbids access to people who are not pure in heart, or hides himself. It is more that, any person controlled by motivations that are not genuine cannot see God because He is unrecognizable.   

We’ve all had the experience of looking for something, but looking in the wrong place. The heart that is fundamentally impure either searches in wrong places, such as man-made religion, or is not interested in seeking God at all.

Being or becoming pure in heart is not something we can “work at,” it is a state of being like water being in a state of solid, liquid, or vapor. Only God can change the state of a person’s heart, and only a relationship with God through Christ will open that door.

Reflection Question:

In addition to your ideal core motivations as a Christ follower, what other real motivations control you? What needs to change?