Today I was reflecting on the common expression that says, “Actions speak louder than words.” Sources say that this expression date back as far as 1628. It was first used in its current form in the USA by Abraham Lincoln in 1856. In simple terms it means what you do carries more weight than what you say. However, today my mind pushed me further beyond action. While I agree with the saying, I still feel it would have been excellent to say, “Motives speak louder than words or action.” Reasons supporting my statement will be shared in the next two paragraphs and the last paragraph will share the spiritual perception that I had while doing my reflection.
I believe motive is the blueprint of every action or words that we choose to speak. Motive as a noun is defined by many dictionaries as something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do certain thing, especially one that is hidden or not obvious. Therefore, actions or words if pieced together can lead us to motive. However, motive is something that is often hidden and it is best known when the person with the motive honestly shares it by word of mouth or in written form. This suggests to me that it is easy to make good conclusions about someone based on his/her actions or words alone. In this world people have been fooled by the saying that ‘action speak louder than words.” All the people including politicians, church goers, rich people and people of influence have benefited themselves by doing good works to the people with an impression that they care, yet, their real motive is only to gain their support or silence them, a behaviour I call innocent manipulation.They appear innocent by their actions and what they speak to people. Nonetheless, deep down their hearts, it is loud and clear that their actions are only there as a cover up.
Furthermore, many of you will agree with me that innocent people have been accused of wrong doing because of what others saw them doing. Good Samaritans have been accused of wrong doing because some people misinterpreted their good actions. Jails and prisons today have some inmates who because the world only looked at their actions without giving them an opportunity to share their motive, ‘actions speak louder than words’ mentality threw them on the wrong side of the law.
I now understand the reason why God will not judge us by our actions but motives. God cannot be fooled by people’s actions because our motives are fully understood by Him. No wonder when we go to heaven, there be many surprises. One of the major surprise will be to find people who because of their actions we never expected them to make it to heaven. 1 Corinthians 4:5 says, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” It is for this reason why the Psalmist says, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart” (Proverbs 21:2). The heart in this text refers to the center of our decision making that is influenced by our motives. Mathew 6:1-18 reveals how the Pharisees fooled the people with their actions. In this chapter we see that their sinful nature was revealed through their motives. Jesus says that they prayed at the street corners with the motive to be seen and they gave to others in order to be praised. Their actions were good but they were guided by wrong motives. Sad to say that we now have many people in our time who are busy impressing others by their good actions, but the hard truth is that their motives speak louder than their words or actions before God who cannot be fooled. My prayer and your prayer should be that God create in us the pure minds with good motives that are acceptable before the Savior.
HOPE TO LIVE BY 