Motives

Introduction

The word “family” carries different meanings for different people. Some have a strong sense of belonging and love. Others have a strong sense of rejection and apathy. Some have lots of good memories from childhood. Others have memories that are tainted from the effects of sin. Whatever your vision of family, most of us ultimately want to have a good family. Most of us do not wake up in the mornings trying to conceive of ways to make life harder for our family nor do we want dysfunction within our family.

My mom got up early every morning to prepare breakfast for her family. Five days a week mom would make homemade biscuits, eggs, bacon, and gravy. Saturday morning was pancake day. Sunday was cereal. She wasn’t resting. She was getting Sunday lunch ready on Sunday morning. Why did she cook every morning? Part of it was expectation and training, but most of it was to make sure her family could meet the day with energy. More than once I heard my mother say that she enjoyed cooking breakfast for her family. Her motives were pure. There were a few days that mom burned the biscuits (we ate the tops anyway) or there wasn’t enough milk to make the gravy and there wasn’t enough to heap it on the biscuits, but everyday she was working in the kitchen to care for her family. Those are good memories for me.

In today’s world, my mom might be criticized for feeding her family bad food. High in carbs, the meal today might be seen as a means to hurt the health of her family. What she meant for good, could be criticized as bad. Paul found himself in a similar situation in Thessalonica. He came to the city with pure motives, but some questioned those motives. Paul defends himself in our text using the image of family to make his point.

Recollection

Paul arrived in Thessalonica from Philippi. Things had been especially difficult in Philippi. If you will look back at Acts 16 after healing a young lady with an evil spirit, her masters had Paul and Silas thrown into prison. Here they were beaten, placed in stocks, and left as common criminals. Singing songs of praise at midnight, God sent an earthquake and the jailor and his family were taught the gospel and they responded in baptism. Paul had told his readers about the events at Philippi. He didn’t arrive in the city trying to hide anything. He came to preach and teach. He came with boldness even though he was hurting from the experience at Philippi. We have to be impressed with a person who keeps going even though opposition is stiff. After preaching in the synagogue for three Sabbaths, opposition comes. Where does this courage come from? Verse 2 — God.

In Paul’s day, oration was a valued skill. People traveled throughout the world, speaking about new and old ideas. These philosophers were compensated through their speaking and when they found a strong acceptance in a place, they would remain for extended periods of time. These speakers may believe what they were saying but without financial support they could not survive. So often they had to resort to flattery and trickery in order to get people to support them. They were not people of pure motives. With this in mind, Paul defends his integrity against his critics.

Verse 3, Paul says they did not come with error. This could mean that their message did not contain error or that their personal lives were not defective. Either is possible. The idea seems to be that Paul did not come to Thessalonica to defraud them or to lead them into error for his own personal gain. Nor did they come with impure motives. They only wanted what was best for them. He denies that they tried to trick his readers. Paul uses a word that means to use bait to catch a fish. Paul did not try to use the means to get them to accept what he said hook, line, and sinker. No deception or tricks.

Instead, verse 4, he came with God’s approval and with a heart that was set on pleasing God. Verse 5, they didn’t use flattery. “I can tell that you are wise people;” “You are too smart for me. I couldn’t fool you.” No flattery. Unlike the traveling philosophers, Paul didn’t use words to lure them. Nor did he come with a motive of greed. As he will say in 2:9, he worked so that the people didn’t have to give money to him. Finally, verse 6, he wasn’t looking for human praise. Paul calls it glory. He wasn’t looking for glory. No pedestal for him. Epictetus (a philosopher who lived in Rome toward the end of the first century) describes an orator who demanded his audience “Praise me!” In response to the crowd’s question, “What do you mean by praise?” he answered: “Cry Bravo! Marvelous!” Paul says they did not seek honor from the Thessalonians or anyone else.

From Infancy to Maturity

Instead, Paul says we treated you as a nursing mother does her child. There are few images that capture the idea of intimacy, care, and love as that image of a mother tenderly feeding her baby. Verse 8 — Paul gave them his heart. Paul didn’t just share the gospel, he shared himself. Paul is painting a picture that he along with those who came with him weren’t interested in what people could do for them but what they could do for others.

Verse 9 — proof of that truth is found in how hard he worked. He made no financial demands on them. He worked hard and long as a tentmaker or leatherworker to meet his own needs and so as not to be a burden to them. According to Philippians 4:15-16, he received money from the church in Philippi while in Thessalonica again and again. But the point was he could not be accused of greed (2:5). His long days of hard work was proof that what he had to offer was the gospel and himself.

Verse 10 — Paul’s character was beyond reproach. Paul was not perfect. But there were no major character flaws. His life could be considered blameless because there was consistency between how he lived and his words about the gospel. Because of the quality of his life, verse 11, he became like a father to them. The father’s powerful role in the 1st century is well attested. But there are documents that demonstrate that fathers were kind, loving, and compassionate as well. But fathers in the 1st century had a very significant role — to educate and train their children. Their authority was found and completed in making sure that children grew and matured.

Verse 12 — the three words used to describe the work of the father are really indistinguishable. This is a piling up of synonyms to have the desired effect. Paul urged, encouraged and comforted his children in the faith to live lives that reflected the God they loved. To live a life that demonstrates that they are following the God who calls them into his kingdom. Acts 17:6-7 demonstrates that this was one of the key components of Paul’s message. The accusation is made against these believers that they teach that there is a new king. Paul acknowledges that this is true. They are part of a different kingdom and they are waiting to share in God’s glory.

Application

Our motives are not easily seen. So we have to show our motives through our behavior and character. How do we do that? Two ways that are intertwined. First, we live recognizing that this life is about God and not about us. I am challenged by Paul’s determination and courage to leave a place where he had been beaten and opposition was continuous to go to another and be able to preach again. He was so convicted and empowered by God that he refused to give up. There was fire in Paul that could not be extinguished. He got discouraged, but then the drive would take over. In Acts 17, he has been run out of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea in fairly short order. He finds himself alone in Athens. He is there to rest. Timothy and Silas are still in Berea. But Paul starts walking around the city and before long he is back in the Jewish synagogue preaching about Jesus. He saw the false gods and had to speak. And guess what? Opposition came, but so did conversion. Paul knew that this life was about God not about himself.

Because second, he knew that he was part of another kingdom and in three short weeks he had taught that lesson to the people of Thessalonica. We belong to another kingdom. We have another king. We are Americans because God has chosen to place us here. There are billions of others living in other nations. While we are defined by a nation, we actually belong elsewhere. We are part of a kingdom that has no borders. We are part of a kingdom that is ruled by one who is perfect and holy and just and cares deeply about us. We invest in the lives of people because we are part of this kingdom and because we want them to be part of this kingdom as well. We allow ourselves to be hurt, because our King did the same thing. We invest in people just as our king did. Our speech, our thoughts, and our actions reveal another kingdom. And the King of that kingdom wants all to know him. So we invest in people so that they can be impressed with our King not with us.

What does that look like? Your work looks like you are working for God. You listen with the heart of love. Your character is above reproach. You don’t try to intimidate or control others. You pray for the courage and boldness to accept discouragement and lack of ease with joy because you live with the full knowledge and faith that there is another place for you. You try to live like your King who sacrificed for others so that they could see Father. As residents of another kingdom we are temporarily assigned to a place and time. We want our King to be seen through us. We give our heart to him and allow ourselves to be available for his will and purpose. We live knowing that we are here for our Father and we invest in people so they will know Him too. Invitation.

Follow Jesus

If you’d like to respond to this message or learn more about following Jesus, please reach out.