For many years my friend, Tom, provided children's sermons in the Sunday services of the church he attended in New England. He was highly gifted at this task and very effective. Yet he told me in tears that he wondered if God wanted him in this role. His concern, he said, was that he enjoyed it so much; this led him to question whether his motives were really right in doing it.

The irony is that Tom was effective in giving children's messages precisely because he enjoyed the role as much as he did. And he was performing an invaluable service to the pastor and people of this church. I knew many people in that church and am certain that no one was the least bit concerned about Tom's motives.

Some Christians are not concerned enough about their personal motives. Yet I've known many who, like Tom, obsess about motives too much. In many cases they are serious Christians, on the growing edge spiritually. And they have gifts which can make a significant contribution to the body of Christ and the world. Yet they worry that using their talents will draw too much attention to themselves, and that this attention will not be healthy for them spiritually. They worry, too, that they might enjoy the experience of using their gifts more than they have a right to, and as a result lose their focus on God.

We are called to serve Christ from the highest intentions, unquestionably. We are to do whatever we possibly can to keep our motives pure. At the same time, Scripture is clear that our motives never can be perfect this side of eternity. Sometimes, too, it simply isn't possible to judge our motives accurately and to determine just how healthy they are; we who have analytical temperaments can get too introspective about it.

When it comes to knowing God's will for our personal gifts, Scripture puts the emphasis strongly upon our being active. We are told in strong language in various places to be about the business of using our gifts, and to recognize them as part of God's call upon our life. Paul minces no words, for instance, in Romans 12: "Have a sane estimate of your capabilities. . . . If our gift is preaching, let us preach to the limit of our vision. If it is serving others, let us concentrate on our service; if it is teaching let us give all we have to our teaching" (Romans 12:3, 6-7, Phillips Translation).

Paul certainly recognized that Christians' motives would sometimes be less than perfect if they followed his command to use their gifts. Yet he says nothing about holding back on this account. His implication is that we give God the best opportunity to work within us when our lives are in motion and we're being productive for Christ. As a rule, we allow him better to influence our attitude when we're on the front line using our gifts than when we just sit still and focus on our motives. This is especially true when we're taking steps to keep our relationship with Christ strong, and praying that God will give us the right perspective as we move ahead and use our gifts.

Scripture, then, brings great encouragement and relief to those of us who obsess too much about motives, and tremendous liberty to develop and joyfully use the gifts God has given us. I look at this matter in greater detail in the article attached and encourage you to read it.

If God has given you a gift that will meet the needs of people he has called you to love, don't miss the experience of his grace that is available to you and others as you use it. Pray daily that he will give you motives honoring to Christ as you put your gift to use. But don't expect that your life must be perfect before God wants you to move forward. Realize that using your gift is part of the process through which he will make you more like Christ. Be the person he has created you to be, and allow Christ to shine through your life at this point!