Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors (Psalm 27:11).

Sounds a little mercenary, if you ask me.

Sounds like David wants to follow God in order to avoid getting smacked by the bad guys, not just because he loves God.

Does that bother you?

Beloved, I wish all my motives were pure. I wish I could go to work solely for the joy of teaching children and helping them to grow strong and wise and capable.

But I also go for the paycheck.

Some days I mostly go for the paycheck.

I wish I obeyed traffic laws simply because it is the right and safe and good thing to do.

But I also want to avoid a ticket.

I wish I had accepted Christ only because of his goodness and love and mercy.

But, yeah, escaping eternal death was in the mix, too.

This world is a minefield. You need help navigating it if you want to avoid spiritual boom. So, yes, we follow Christ in part because it gets us through the day with body and soul intact. But we also follow him because he is worth following. He is the One worthy of our life, our soul, our all.

The only One.

Our motives are mixed, Beloved. They always will be, as long as we’re in this world and in this flesh. But that’s OK. He knows, and he loves, and he waits for the day when we will be purely, wholly, completely his.

Me too.

Happy Monday, Beloved.