Our Why Is More Important than Our What

By David Rhea

Our Why Is More Important than Our What is about how God looks at our decisions. God has always been concerned about our hearts and our relationship to him. Your why always looks to your heart's motives. What we do for the cause of Christ is important, but why we do it shows our heart's desire. We are to do the things we do because we love Jesus out of a pure motive, not because we are forced or compelled by servitude, or from some contract we think we can force onto God for admittance into heaven.Salvation always has been freely given upon our confession and repentance of sin, our heart's desire to accept Jesus as our Savior, and our desire to follow him the rest of our lives. Then the adventure really begins for us as we follow after Jesus, and he leads us ever deeper and deeper into his love, grace, and mercies, and we become more like him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885404280

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Our Why Is More Important than Our What

David Rhea

ISBN 979-8-88540-427-3 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88540-428-0 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by David Rhea

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Your Why Is More Important than Your What

About the Author

Your Why Is More Important than Your What

God always looks at the heart of a person; the heart always speaks to motivation. Why you do something is always more important than what it is you're doing with God. So this book is about our choices, both what they are and why we make the choices we do, and how God looks at them. And hopefully you will see that these three things are connected, really important, and have eternal consequences.

As you read this book, I want you to know that it is all about your relationship with Jesus. He knows your true heart, he always has, and why you do the things you do is very important. It's important because it reveals your faith and commitment to Jesus, or your lack thereof. It clearly shows your heart's condition, your relational condition before the Lord all through your life.

We each live our own individual lives. We wake up in the mornings generally; we go through our day with school or work and/or play. We spend our evenings where we choose to spend them for the most part. All of that goes to say that we are busy living.

That means we come into contact daily with many other people. Our interactions come about from our choices as well as theirs. To say that it can be complicated is an understatement. We are presented with many choices every single day, from what to have for breakfast to how to deal with difficult people or situations.

I think that for many of our choices, we don't even consider our motives. We just choose out of our selfish wants/impulses, mostly going through our day at a hundred miles an hour, with minor consideration for those around us because we are in a hurry. We might make them angry with our decisions, and that is unpleasant. Or we choose despite knowing someone will be unhappy, but not unhappy enough to make our choice untenable for us because we want something selfish for ourselves. Or we choose because it's someone's birthday, or it's Christmas, and we need to get them something to give us both some instant gratification (fleeting happiness).

That does not say much for us in light of God's Word about our choices. How many times have you made a choice knowing it was going to upset someone but did it anyway? Now that choice might have been by God's leading, and the choice made someone unhappy because they needed confrontation. But more frequently, our bad choices are our own selfishness rising to the surface. Many of our choices are weighed in the balance of Can I do this and not get into trouble, or not get caught?

Our ethics, integrity, service, relationships, education, and parental guidance, whether current or from our childhood, all come into play. We carry our scars, fears, and our lack of trust and faith from past traumas and relationships into every decision we make. Our history of support at critical times and our successes in our day-to-day decisions get brought into every decision we make.

Our position in life at each moment also affects us in our choices. Family, friends, and people at work, school, and church all have effects on us. But in the end, it is always our choice, and our responsibility as to what we do and why we do that.

So the choices we make throughout our day are influenced by our motives; self-preservation, service to others, or greed and ego for each choice is our why. And we need to know that God is more concerned with our why than he is with whatever it is that we do in each incident. Because our why always speaks to the heart's condition.

I'm not saying here that what we do doesn't matter; oh yes, it does, and he is concerned with those too. Our what can also be critical, whether it be for good or selfish reasons.

And our what (those things we actually do each day) can and may have a tremendous effect on our lives as well as the lives of others for eternity. So the topic is important for us to consider because we can't halfway follow Jesus. We can't passively be a disciple of Christ.

We, I believe, are in the Matthew 24 period in time. Our world has gone completely upside down, and we meet all of the qualifications for that time period. So this study is really important for us on many levels.

The time we find ourselves in is dangerous in more ways than one. We are facing apostasy issues, unbelief, distracted Christianity, and so many dangerous false teachings. We have become selfish, lovers of ourselves, haters, self-indulgent, willful, lazy, and disobedient people.

Believers who follow hard after Christ are being hounded, persecuted, abandoned, mocked, and falsely accused at every turn these days. And some of those who are doing these things are from the church as well as the secular world.

Why? Because the decisions from people, Christian or non-Christian, come from selfish hearts, envious hearts, and hearts at war or in rebellion against God.

And these issues will become even more difficult for us in the future. So your heart's motivated decisions will become more and more important. It will be the reason you're able to persevere, or not.

As I progressed in the writing of this book, I have had the impression that this book will make some people pretty angry. But for others, it will be a breath of life. Why? It all falls on where you are at in your relationship before Christ. If you're faking any of it—any of it—then this may anger you.

Because it's confronting, and we do not like to be confronted, especially by the Holy Spirit. Now be angry with me if you want; I'm not the judge here. God is! And if you are faking it, the Holy Spirit will confront you about it. He will require that from you; I won't. But be assured, he will require it from you as a holy, righteous God. And since I don't know you, I'm not specifically accusing you of anything, but the Holy Spirit can and will.

Where Are You in Your Faith?

The first thing to consider is, where are you in your faith? Salvation is the starting point. You must confess your sins and need of a savior, and then ask Jesus to come into your life as your Savior. You are asking Jesus to enter your life, for the rest of your life. And if you claim to follow Christ and your life has not been changed, you have not met Christ. I'm sorry if you don't like that statement, but no one can come to Christ without radical changes being made. Jesus is so overwhelming that nothing comes into contact with him and remains the same.

For most of us, the next big event is getting baptized. Water baptism is the public symbol of the old self dying, being buried, and resurrecting under the new life. That, my friends, is just the start. Jesus will completely change you as your relationship grows and you grow with it. But if you do not have change in your life, then I would say you did not mean what you said when you asked for forgiveness and for Jesus to come into your heart, if you ever really did. This will become evident later in this book.

Salvation is an extremely personal event. Only you can make that decision; no one else can make it for you. Your parents cannot have bequeathed it to you at birth; nationality is not even part of the equation. You are not a Christian because of where you were born, nor where you attend church.

Salvation only comes when the Holy Spirit draws you, and you purposely choose to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. But I am not the judge of that either; only God will be. But remember, he knows the truth about your heart.

I came to Christ when I was about eight years old. My mom took us three kids to church, where we did all of the church things. Later, we moved (a job change for my dad) and found another church and did all of the church things at that church, like programs set in stone. I am not bashing church programs here. Remember, everything must stand up to the test of each heart's motives.

Not much really changed for me those first few years. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I was miserable, a fair-to-poor student, undersized, and afraid mostly. I was an obedient son. I didn't get into trouble, nor was I mean. I was a good kid. But that would not get me into heaven by itself. Between my freshman and sophomore years, I decided to really search for Jesus and God. I made that decision mostly because I was afraid of the future. I didn't think I had it in me to succeed.

I made several really important decisions that summer. First, I dedicated my life to serve Jesus. Interestingly at a church summer camp with a program, set in stone. It was my decision, not my parents'. I felt the Holy Spirit drawing me to a real relationship. That decision must be your choice only; no one can force you into it nor make it for you.

Secondly, I began to read God's Word and attempt to apply it to my own life. That was a long and arduous process. At that time, I didn't read my Bible much because it was hard to understand (Old King James Version), and there wasn't much direction given to study. But I did start, and the seed that was planted then has continued to grow even till today.

I had parents who were split about serving Jesus, a mom who took us to church, a dad who was okay with that but didn't go himself at that time. My dad came to Jesus and has gone home now. I look longingly forward to our reunion.

My circumstances changed slowly, almost painfully at times and led to more prayer, a greater interest in godly things. It was a long and often difficult progress in the right direction. The Holy Spirit brought people into my life at the right times continually through this process. And it is still in progress in that same direction. God's word never returns without successfully completing the will of God.

So a good question here: When did I truly accept Christ into my life? I do know that it became real to me that summer between my freshman and sophomore years. Was I a Christian from eight years old? Yes, I believe so, because like the seed that fell onto the fertile ground, I grew, oh so slowly at first. New baby plants are so fragile, but amazingly resilient too. So are we. God knew my future, and his plan was and still is being accomplished in my life today.

It's funny now, but at that time (between freshman and sophomore years), we had a missionary family on leave in our church, back home from Peru. I became friends with one of the missionary's sons, Curtis, mainly because he didn't have any other friends and because most of the cool kids at the church ignored him. As a geeky kid, his social skills were not up to the church's California kids' standards, and he had bad hygiene habits.

I have wondered what scars he carried back to the mission field upon his return to Peru from a bunch of snobby, mean-spirited teens. Our friendship, and other things I had witnessed then, caused me to really start thinking about where I wanted to go in life, and how I wanted to grow. And as I said earlier, I was afraid that I didn't have it in me to succeed in life at that time.

I remember part of my prayer to God at that time was that I would go anywhere he led and do whatever he wanted! But please, God, don't send me to Peru as a missionary. (God didn't.) That part of my prayer was a lack of faith and a fear on my part of being ostracized by people. That is a true story and shows my lack of maturity and faith. But it also shows a loving, understanding God who, through my faltering baby steps, fed and led me along. By the way, God still has never sent me to Peru.

So when did my relationship with Christ become real? Yes, I agree at salvation, but if it just ended there and I never changed, it wouldn't have been a real conversion. Read the parables about the seed and Jesus's explanation of them (Luke 8:4–15, Matt. 13:1–23, and Mark 4:1–20). God, who knows the past to the future, knows our hearts. The Holy Spirit searches our hearts, and he knows our final outcome. And while we say we serve him, his Word repeatedly tells us that many will fall away in the last times.

In Luke 8:15, Jesus says, And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

Look at the words Jesus uses: they heard the word, in an honest and good heart, hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

We are in a spiritual war! We must get more and more serious with our relationship with Jesus daily. We are not the final judges for our salvation; we cannot hold up that one act (asking for forgiveness and for Jesus to become our Savior) as a contract to force God to let us into heaven. That was just the beginning of the relationship.

We, like Jacob, are connivers. We negotiate God's words and promises and try to get our best deal in all areas of our lives at the expense of everyone else, and that is not how it really works. Salvation only comes through Jesus; God's promises only come through his word, his love for us, and our obedience to it. God's blessings come from following him daily.

So what have you done yesterday for Christ? I'm happy you came to Christ oh so long ago, but where are you today? Are you still there? Is Jesus still first in your life? Are you actively serving him daily? Or have you stepped away? That is a question for you. I am not your judge, nor am I accusing you; I am warning you to take stock of your heart and that relationship, because only you can do that. I know that I continue to do so. Because the Holy Spirit continually reminds me to check my own motives.

True salvation always brings with it change in our hearts toward God. If you plant a tree (a bare root), it will not bring forth fruit for a period of time.

The roots need to grow down into the soil, the leaves have to do their part, and the branches have to grow. The fruit has to pollinate and grow to maturity.

At the first house I bought, I planted several self-pollinating Fuji apple trees as bare-roots in the backyard. The bare-roots were about four feet high and looked like sticks stuck in the ground. They did not look promising. I wonder how promising each of us looked when we came to Christ, yet I know he saw from our beginning to our end.

The apple trees took three years before I got my first apple, but watching them sprout leaves that first spring was both exciting and encouraging. The trees had to mature to produce fruit, and so do we. I had to water and weed the ground and tend to those trees for that length of time before I saw any fruit. But that fruit, right off the tree, was worth the wait.

Not until I went to God in earnest