1 Corinthians 4:3–5 - Motives Gone Bananas

What's really ah...peeling?

The other day I was about to eat a fresh banana. The peel had just turned from somewhat green to a bright, unblemished yellow. "Golden Bananas" is how grocery stores advertise them, right?

When peeled, it looked fine--until I cut off a section. Revealed in the cross section was a blackened core. I was glad I hadn't bitten into it!  Every section I cut off the banana was the same. It was as if the banana was rotting from the inside out!

Paul cautions us:
"As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 5 So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives..." (1 Corinthians 4:3–5, New Living Translation) 

It's a common deception, isn't it? Someone can convince others that they have all the right words and actions--but their motives are askew, even evil.

However, the opposite could be true. Society may have already judged someone as evil in their eyes, or simply unimportant and benign. All the while, they are living with the best and godliest of motives.

The above passage actually concludes:
"For He will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due."

"Darkest secrets" aren't necessarily evil, they are just unseen by others. Perhaps those previously hidden motives will elicit praise from God Himself. 

When it comes down to it, we don't know our own motives; they maybe be just as hidden from our own selves. Just because we feel guilty doesn't mean we are, and the absence of guilt feelings does imply innocence. Only God truly knows.

That is why we begin our prayer with Psalm 26:2 (New American Standard, 1995) —
"Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart." I have a difficult time knowing my own motives, so I open myself to Your examination. Much less can I know the motives of others, so guard me from judging them. In Jesus name, Amen.