It’s easy to believe that those who serve others and commit their time at church are people with a right and pure heart. However, we could still be serving God yet not have the right heart. It’s not what you do, but why you do it that counts. Do you have the right heart?

I too had to ask myself that very same question.

I have been wanting to join a writing group at my church for almost a year, but with my hectic schedule, I never had the time to join.

Finally, the time had come when I no longer had conflicting schedules and was able to join the group. I was excited because I was also in the process of writing a devotional book and thought this group would be a great opportunity for me to work on it and get some feedback.

I emailed the leader letting him know my interest in joining. However, his response wasn’t what I was expecting.

“Great”, he said. “We are in the process of writing a book for the church and are looking for people to help!”

In my mind I was thinking… What? God, you finally opened my schedule but now it was to help the Church’s book, and not my own?

I then thought of changing my mind from joining the group. But it was that moment when God opened my eyes to my own heart.

He showed me My heart, a self-centered heart that only sought for my purpose and not God’s purpose. I wanted to join this group at my church, but with the wrong heart. And if it wasn’t from this incident, I would never have known that my purpose of joining was only centered around my wants, instead of God’s wants.

God wanted me to join the group to fellowship with other believers who had the same passion as me, and to serve others through our gifts. Yet my intention of joining was to only serve myself.

Not to serve others. Not to serve God.

Did I have the right heart? Definitely not.

It’s so scary to know that despite chasing after Godly things, we too can do it with the wrong heart. To make sure we have the right heart, we must always ask ourselves this:

Are you seeking God for His purpose or your purpose?

I was serving God with the wrong motivation. All I was thinking in my mind was what I could do for myself, instead of what I could be doing for God. I was serving God but with my own purpose and agenda. We must make sure that we are not using God for our own purposes.

We were created to glorify God alone, and not ourselves. We must constantly seek his purpose in everything we do. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.“

Not for one second does God want us to glorify ourselves – we must do everything for his glory, his purpose. It’s either all about us, or all about God – it can’t be both. Is your intention of doing this for God or you? (Remember, the answer can’t be both.)

It’s easy to fall into the trap of using God to chase after our own desires. Even having Godly desires does not guarantee that God is the focus of our lives. We can still have God’s desires but focus it for us, and not God.

If we serve at the worship team only to make ourselves a better singer, or to feel accomplished, we already missed the point. Our own service to God has turned to serve ourselves.

Even in my own pursuit of my calling from God in writing, I must remember to write for God’s purpose and not my own. I have to constantly remind myself that my writing isn’t to satisfy my ambition, but to satisfy God’s purpose. This also applies for me joining church groups; it is not to serve my own purpose, but God’s purpose.

To have the right heart will require us to check on it ever so often. Ask yourself, who’s the center of your heart? You or God? God must increase, and we must decrease (John 3:30). Our heart doesn’t have enough room to glorify ourselves and God, we must choose one. So remember, have the right heart.