God acts from the highest, purest motives and expects his people to do the same.
God's supreme motive is the honour of his name
Psalm 106:8 See also Exodus 9:16; Psalm 23:3; Isaiah 43:7; Ezekiel 36:20–23; Ephesians 1:11–14
Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.
God's glory is to be the highest motive of his people
1 Corinthians 10:31 See also Numbers 25:7–13; Isaiah 26:8; Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 4:11
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.
Purity of motive is essential for acceptable worship
Matthew 6:1–18 See also Psalm 51:6, Psalm 51:10, Psalm 86:11; Matthew 5:8
Wrong motives hinder effective prayer
James 4:3 See also Psalm 66:18; 1 John 3:21–22
And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
Motives for good moral behaviour
Wanting to please God
Colossians 3:22–25 See also Ephesians 6:5–8
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men, because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
Compassion for others
Deuteronomy 24:17–22 The experience of slavery and the exodus were to promote compassion for the poor and the alien. See also Exodus 22:21–27; Leviticus 25:35–42, Leviticus 25:54–55
Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this. If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not go over the vines again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
Fear of punishment for sin
Hebrews 13:4 See also Colossians 3:5–6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–6
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
God judges the motives of the heart
Proverbs 16:2 See also 1 Chronicles 28:9; Proverbs 20:27
All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.