Look Beneath the Surface
Are you good at seeing motives?
Verse of the Day
‘Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”’
Today’s Devotional
These are words of Jesus. He is pointing out some hypocrisy of people who are upset with Him. They were all riled up about Him healing a man on the Sabbath, but they broke the same rule when they “needed” to. Jesus is suggesting that they look at their motives and His.
Being able to take a step back and look for motives is a very helpful tool for discernment. Let me give you a couple of examples.
First example: My husband and I were out somewhere and he was excited and I was grouchy. He said something to the effect of, “I can’t believe you don’t like this place. I love it!” My response was that I did not share his opinion. This was delivered in a less than lovely tone of voice. The next day we were discussing it and I was able to verbalize that something about where we were made me feel very insecure. That’s why I was grouchy. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the place, or share in his excitement. I was insecure. Hence the grouchiness. Looking beneath the surface of my grouchiness allowed us to both see what was really going on.
Next example: We were in the market to buy a house for months. Many times in this process we saw pictures of a house and thought it might be a good option. Then we would go and see the house and what looked wonderful in the pictures looked really run down in person. Some things are only really visible upon closer inspection.
Jesus is reminding us in this verse that we need to be looking deeper than what we think we see on the surface. Sometimes that will mean that we see evil or selfish motives in the people around us. Other times, this will be a call to compassion. Sometimes the bad behavior on others is simply a way to cover up a wound.
One of the most valuable spiritual development tools that I have been working on in the last few years is self awareness. I can’t begin to look for the motives of others if I am not willing to look at my own motives. While this can be really uncomfortable, there is also some freedom there. Going back to my example above when I was grouchy with my husband, I can’t just “fix” grouchy. But I CAN do something about my insecurity. (I can confess it and ask Jesus for help.) Honestly, just being able to identify the insecurity is more than half the battle.
Jesus is telling us that things are not always what they seem. There are deeper issues below the surface of what we see and hear. As we seek to develop wisdom and discernment, let’s ask for God’s help to see the motives beneath the surface. Especially our own.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How good are you at seeing your own motives? Give an example. Be specific.
How can you ask God to help you see what is going on below the surface in yourself? Are you willing?
How can you be on the lookout for motives in others without being judgemental?
How could someone’s motives lead you to compassion?