By David Dawson
Communications Specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board
Over the past few weeks, I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about motives, both good and bad, after having recently seen examples of each.
In both cases, I found myself rejoicing.
Let me start by sharing a quick story that exemplifies the essence of “pure” motives.
A couple of weeks ago, I was assigned to write a story about a church in Tennessee that had experienced a great movement of God that manifested itself in the form of sacrificial giving. During the year, the church body had generously given to both Lottie Moon and the Golden Offering, and had contributed substantially to the Cooperative Program.
Without revealing too much, let me just say that the numbers were impressive. Newsworthy, to be sure.
So, I contacted the pastor to begin the process of writing the story. And that’s when an interesting thing happened: The pastor told me — in very gentle terms — that he had discussed it with his staff, and they had decided to “respectfully decline” the story.
David Dawson
He told me (and I am paraphrasing here) that even though he was proud of the church and this show of generosity, he was content just knowing that the church had invested in gospel work.
He said he wanted to be sure that “God got all the glory” for the church’s giving.
Frankly, I was blown away. The humility involved with this decision made my heart sing.
Although I am always happy to share feel-good stories with our readers, I was equally happy to honor the pastor’s request — and to let this remarkable display of selflessness remain known only to this church and to God.
For my part, I felt privileged to watch a church take the words of Matthew 6:1-4 to heart. In that passage, Jesus says: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. … When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets.” Instead, Jesus said, keep it secret.
So, today, I just wanted to say a hearty “Right on, church!” to this congregation. (And you know who you are.) Although your story will never be known — at least not through anything written in this publication — I believe your commitment to honoring God will be rewarded, either in this life or the next.
Now, just for comparison’s sake, let’s look at the other side of motives.
In recent years, there have been several highly popular worship bands/ songwriters who have been criticized for having less-than-honorable intentions.
Without going into much detail on this debate — I will let you do your own research and come to your own conclusion — I will mention that some churches (and individuals) have elected to no longer sing songs that were written or performed by these particular bands.
Many of these churches have come to this decision after much research and prayer. And in those instances, I say, by all means, follow your convictions.
However, I would suggest here that we needn’t try to completely erase the positive impact that these bands have had on worship sessions for many, many years. Nor should we harshly judge those who continue to worship (be it in their car, home, or elsewhere) through the music performed by these bands. Simply put, let’s not get carried away with the Christian version of cancel culture.
Let me say again: If someone elects to no longer sing (or listen to) these songs, I certainly respect their decision. But let’s not be too quick to criticize those who haven’t opted to do the same.
Let’s not get caught up in criticizing the manner — or in this case, the means — in which another person chooses to worship. Rather, let’s be glad that our fellow believers are finding an avenue for praise.
In Phillippians, Paul writes about preachers of his day who were preaching with “selfish ambition” and “were not sincere.” But Paul quickly goes on to say, “What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”
I think to some extent that same mindset can apply here.
For me, personally, some of the songs that were originally performed by these bands have shaped my heart for worship time and time again. So, even if the songwriters and performers have wrong minded intentions, the fact that these songs bring believers closer to the Lord can be valued.
Now, you might be asking yourself, what do these two opposite-end-of-the-spectrum examples — a church with a selfless attitude and a worship group with questionable incentives — have in common?
And my answer would be this: In both cases, God is being glorified. He is the ultimate judge of our motives — and His goodness can be revealed in any situation, whether it’s the form of an honorable secret or the songs of a controversial praise group.
And because of this, I rejoice. B&R
