Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

(Philippians 1:15-17 ESV)

Christians realize that motives matter.

Paul was referring to two groups of people – both who were proclaiming Christ. Proclaiming Christ is a good thing. The first group of people was trying to hurt Paul. For some reason, they were envious of Paul and saw him as their competition.

The second group of people was trying to help Paul. They were motivated out of love and the defense of the gospel. That’s a great combination.

What can we learn? I think there are a few things:

1. What we do matters. We need to make sure that we’re doing the right things.
2. It’s possible to do the right things for the wrong reasons. Is it okay to say that it’s not as bad as doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons? But it’s still not the best way to live.
3. Our motivation for what we do should be love – love for God and love for others.

We learn that motives matter.