“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages, who says, ‘I will build myself a great house with spacious upper rooms,’ who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion.” (Jeremiah 22:13–14, ESV)
As I have lived and watched our leaders, it has become apparent that motives are Important. There are many in governments, business, and churches that are there for noble purposes and others that are there for ignoble. Governing motives were the issue in Judah as we see the Lord giving a picture of two kings.
Here, the Lord’s message is for Jehoiakim, the second son of Josiah who was appointed by Pharoah Neco as king of Judah after the Shallum, also known as Jehoahaz, was deposed by Neco and taken captive to Egypt. Jehoiakim was a king with poor motives. He was in leadership to experience personal gain, to live in the highlife. Because his motivation for leading was characterized by selfishness, he built “his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice.” He abused his workers by not paying them for their labor. Moreover, he had them build a lavish “house with spacious upper rooms,” paneled with cedar and painted with vermilion.
The Lord presented Josiah in contrast to Jehoiakim. Josiah was a righteous king, a good king who sought to honor the Lord God in the kingdom. Josiah’s motivation was not self-indulgence. His motivation was to honor God and care for the people of God who were placed under his charge. Look at this contrasting description of Josiah, Jehoiakim’s father.
“Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 22:15–16, ESV)
Josiah did well as the king of Judah because his motives were correct. He cared for the people, all the people. In his work of caring for the people, he understood two things were necessary. First, to care for them he would need to bring them back to their proper devotion to the living God. You will remember that his grandfather, Menasseh, had taken the nation to the deepest levels of idolatry and apostasy. Moreover, his father, Amon, had done nothing to reverse nation from this evil. Thus, Josiah instituted great religious reforms throughout the kingdom. Second, he would take care of the needs of all the people by governing justly and caring for those who were genuinely poor and needy.
At the core of Josiah’s success was a heart for God. At the core of Jehoiakim’s failure was a heart devoted to himself. Two motives and two outcomes. The question is this. How do we stack up in the area of our motives?
Today we see government leaders who have no priority for God and His righteousness. They pad their own pockets, making fortunes as government officials. They will lie, cheat, and abuse the system, saying they care for the people, while living the highlife. They support many ungodly practices because they desire to appease the culture’s norms rather that the holy word of God.
There are others who’s drive for governance is not money. They will hold to the absolutes of God’s word. Their motivation is for the citizens of the nation, equal justice for all, and for the people.
We can see the same in church leadership today. There is a movement by some church leaders, churches, and denominations to make the word of God appealing to all, by compromising truth. They do this by shifting from the absolute authority of God’s word by compromising on issues, morphing into shifting cultural moral values. They do so in a feeble effort to increase church attendance, unlocking the doors to hedonism and locking the Lord God out. Some of these churches do see numerical growth, but it is numerical growth without the Spirit, which is nothing but apostasy. Moreover, many pastors have fallen into the trap of living lavishly at the expense of the people.
Yet it is not the leaders alone who are guilty. What are our motivations? Are they for God and His righteousness? Are they for the people, considering others as more important than ourselves? Have we made pleasure, money, or prestige a false god in our lives? We all should examine our motives. Is our motive self-satisfaction and self-glorification, or is it to honor God by serving Him and caring for His people?
Renewing the Heart 