Whose Are the Motives

The first nine verses of Proverbs 16 circle a single theme: the limits of human control and the reach of God's. To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue. All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The LORD works out everything to its proper end. In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

Notice how often the LORD is the subject. In a book that is mostly about human behavior, this passage steps back and says that human behavior is not the whole story. There is another agent in every plan, every sentence, every motive.

Verse 2 is the one that unsettles. All a person's ways seem pure to them. That is a description of everyone. We are all our own best defense attorneys. We know our reasons, and our reasons sound good to us. But motives are weighed by the LORD, the verse says, and weighing is precise. He does not take our word for why we did something.

This could be crushing if it stood alone. It does not. Verse 6 says that through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for, and through the fear of the LORD evil is avoided. The one who weighs motives is also the one who provides atonement. He sees exactly what we are and makes a way.

So the passage describes a life lived under two truths at once. God knows more about your reasons than you do, and God has made provision for what he finds. That combination frees a person to plan boldly and hold plans loosely. You do not have to pretend your motives are pure; they are not, and he knows it. You do not have to secure your own steps; he establishes them.

In the last stretch of summer, with fall plans crowding in, this is the devotional posture Proverbs offers. Commit whatever you do to him. Admit that your ways only seem pure. Trust him with the weighing and with the steps. And expect him to work out everything to its proper end, including you.