In Lewis Carroll's classic nonsense novel "Alice in Wonderland", Alice stands at a crossroads, uncertain of which path to choose. So she asks the Cheshire Cat which way to go. The Cheshire Cat insightfully replies, "That depends on where you want to go."
Without knowing which way she wanted to go, Alice could go nowhere - she was stuck. An action cannot be taken in the absence of motivation: every action has a motivation behind it.
There are two types of motives - moral, and immoral. Moral motives can lead to immoral results, as demonstrated by Les Miserables. Jean val Jean desired to feed his sister's starving family - his motivation was pure. But the theft he committed to fulfill that motive was wrong. Conversely, immoral motives can lead to good results. Pharaoh's refusal to release the Israelites from Egyptian slavery showed forth God's great power, through the plagues.
If both types of motives - moral and immoral - can lead to bad results, then does it matter which motivates our actions? Yes, it matters a lot. God weighs the motives of the heart in weighing the action accompanying the motive. The Pharisees' righteousness was counted as filthy rags, because their motivation was pride. The tax collectors' repentance, though seemingly paltry compared to the Pharisees', was motivated by love for God. The attitudes of the heart, or motives, often differentiate between good and bad actions.
God is weaving all history into a tapestry of grace, regardless of evil or righteous motives. So let each of us play a role in Hisstory, doing our best to keep our motivations pure, to walk in the path of the righteous, and to remember that with God, nothing is impossible.
