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Jaguar
Guest
How can one know that his good works are done for God and not for himself?
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BarbaraTherese
Guest
Truth of the matter probably is that we cannot know for sure. We can only ask of The Lord His Grace to do all for love of Him and for others for love of Him, and not for any more selfish type motivation. We can only ask that daily He purifies all our motives and then move on trusting in Him with Hope and confidence. Hope, St. Paul tells us and with common sense, is to invest in what our Faith tells us. And if I can see what Faith tells me, then I no longer need Faith.
St. Paul to Romans
Chapter 8
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St. Paul to Romans
Chapter 8
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For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen, is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he hope for? 25 But if we hope for that which we see not, we wait for it with patience.
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geezerbob
Guest
Years ago, someone told me that it was easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting. He also said to utilize, not analyze. Just keep doing your good works and don’t worry about your motives. The heart will follow the body.
J
Joysong
Guest
There is a hidden desire at times in all of us to want recognition, esteem or notoriety. You might remember the comments Jesus made to the pharisees in Mt. 6:1, “(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.”
I was reading a section in Fr. Dubay’s book Spiritual Direction last night, called “Purifying mixed motives.” He explains that we are wounded people, and “it is only too easy to give alms both out of genuine love for the poor and from a desire to impress; to pray from a real devotion to the Lord, but without excluding the wish to be seen; to decline a request for help, both because time is lacking and because of thinly disguised laziness.”
We do our best to avoid mingling faulty motivation in our praiseworthy words and deeds. Many times we will fail, but I think the remedy is sometimes hidden in Jesus’s words above, and also in another counsel He gave us, to be willing to take the last place, rather than strive for the place of honor.
As we become more and more purified of mixed intentions, it will be easy to step up to the plate and offer our service, even if it means being in the limelight. The Holy Spirit will quicken us to see the root of our intentions. For those that are only for God’s glory, we then proclaim when satan tempts us, “I did not begin this work for your sake, and I will not abandon it because you object to it.”
I was reading a section in Fr. Dubay’s book Spiritual Direction last night, called “Purifying mixed motives.” He explains that we are wounded people, and “it is only too easy to give alms both out of genuine love for the poor and from a desire to impress; to pray from a real devotion to the Lord, but without excluding the wish to be seen; to decline a request for help, both because time is lacking and because of thinly disguised laziness.”
We do our best to avoid mingling faulty motivation in our praiseworthy words and deeds. Many times we will fail, but I think the remedy is sometimes hidden in Jesus’s words above, and also in another counsel He gave us, to be willing to take the last place, rather than strive for the place of honor.
As we become more and more purified of mixed intentions, it will be easy to step up to the plate and offer our service, even if it means being in the limelight. The Holy Spirit will quicken us to see the root of our intentions. For those that are only for God’s glory, we then proclaim when satan tempts us, “I did not begin this work for your sake, and I will not abandon it because you object to it.”
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glenaitken
Guest
there’s always going to be a bit of blending here, but this does not mean you’ve not done either. there is some sort of self satisfaction in good works, even if its knowing that you’ve done the right thing. if, however, you perform a good work when you don’t want to, and if you really get no satisfaction for doing it other than “its the rigth thing”, or “it what God wants”, it may even take from you in some way- this is what it is like to do a completely unselfish act for God. you will get nothing out of the act emotionally, mentally, physically, and it may even cost you. you tend to have to control yourself too (sometimes the act will cause you pain or anger or frustration or some other negative emotion because you’re not perfect) and if you fail to control yourself, you fail to gain the greatest graces from the action. so, to answer your question: if you don’t like the good act that you are doing but you are doing it because it is the right thing out of respect for God, then you’ve done an unselfish act of love
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JimR-OCDS
Guest
Only you and God can know this.
You have to evaluate what your motive is for doing good works.
The rest of us can only sit back and judge.
Jim
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kobefire
Guest
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