A co-worker with a pure heart is a rare gem. He is honest, trustworthy, sincere and fair. He says what he means and means what he says without being controlling or tyrannical. He neither manipulates nor deceives. In all your interactions with him you have detected no self-importance or need for approval. Not for a second have you doubted his commitment to your well-being or his loyalty to the company.
This is purity made visible, one of the most valuable virtues for a powerful and successful team. It is not an abstraction: this priceless virtue describes one whose motives for speech and action are right, good, trustworthy, and true.
We all know what it’s like to be around a person whose motives are suspect. We are unsure, tentative, afraid to trust too far.
And we obviously should avoid those with impure motives, unless we want to spend precious time putting out relational fires: “For where you have envy and selfish ambition there you have disorder and every evil practice” (James 3:16).
Employees with pure motives have a profound effect on others. They naturally generate trust, the power that binds people together, the bond that keeps relationships secure and growing. They also stir up desire—a longing in others to be just like them. The presence of just one person with pure motives on a team uplifts all the others.
One with this remarkable but unsung virtue is like a keystone in a stone arch. It is that one stone in the middle that holds all the other stones together.
In any workplace, this virtue can save the day.
- A leader with pure motives enables others to receive correction without resentment.
- A potential client who senses pure motives in a company representative will feel trust. And trusting you, he will join you.
- Where else is trust more valuable than when calling for investment in a large project? Or when trusting a team member to be efficient, timely, and accurate when, say, preparing a complicated tax return or onboarding a new client?
Acquiring pure motives does not come by “practice.” That, as they say, is like putting lipstick on a pig. Instead, it is something received, granted.
It is a by-product of our transformation in Christ.
We acquire it by dwelling in the light (the Lord will reveal what is “hidden in darkness and expose the motives of men’s hearts,” (1 Corinthians 4:5), and by letting the Word of God purify us (God’s word “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart,” Hebrews 4:12).
Perhaps most surprising of all, purity is a prime quality of wisdom: “For the wisdom that comes down from heaven is first of all, pure…” (James 3:17).
Dwell in the light of God’s presence and allow His word to expose the hidden and often unconscious motives of your heart. Ask God for wisdom and then watch Him gradually purify all your motives!
Add comment