Motives for Making Profit
Updated: Aug 7, 2021
On a previous blog I pointed out that we can bring God into our businesses if we can make a habit of asking for His help in business decisions. But let’s talk about motive.
If I ask you for $50 to help me go on a medical missions trip, you might help me out. I’m going to help others out, and that feels good to you.
But if I ask for $50 to go play golf, you’re going to look at me funny. You’ll be thinking “dude, go pay for golf yourself.”
The motive for the money was different, so it changed your response. In James 4:3 we read:
"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3)
I used to want to make a lot of profit in my company so that I could buy nice things, live in a nice place, drive a nice car, take tons of trips, and eat out a lot. Those were my motives. I even created a Vision Board of all of these material things and would look at it constantly!
But those aren’t motives at all. Those are REWARDS for hard work. Motives are things that would please God, therefore he would grant them to us.
For example: -Getting out of debt -Paying for children’s college -Spouse not have to work -Tithe more -Support a charity
If you set your vision and motives on things that would please God, then the rewards will follow with profits that God will bless you with.
Changing your motives changes your money.
I went back to my vision board and changed up the order of things. I created a rewards column because I want to visualize my rewards, but the first columns were my motives for profits.