People Are People But Our Morality Complicates Us

Mar 1

Mar 1 People Are People But Our Morality Complicates Us

Proverbs Devo, God's Word, Personal Faith, Wisdom

People are people

I enjoy watching people wherever I go. I’m intrigued by how different people are and yet how much we all are the same. We have the same basic needs and everyone shares a similar nature from birth.

Across cultures and geography, the basic needs and wants of people are the same. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is mostly accurate among people throughout the world.

And so, at a basic level, people are simple to understand. If we lack basic physiological needs, we’ll be motivated to fill those needs. Of course, this is in a general sense and there are always exceptions to the rule. But, as a general rule—people are people.

Beyond basic needs, people get a bit complicated. The motives of a person’s heart aren’t always easy to discern, especially when the mind and heart of a person are in conflict.

Sociopaths and psychopaths are examples of people whose values and judgment are in conflict with others, and even upside down. Somewhere along the line, the development of their moral conscience was short-circuited.

This is where discernment and wisdom are required to know and understand a person’s motives—why they do what they do. Psychology helps us with clinical observations, but to discern at a deeper level, we need help.

This is where the wisdom of God and God’s Spirit are invaluable.

God—our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer—knows everyone inside and out. He knows our deepest thoughts, motives, and feelings. We need His help and guidance to understand others, as well as ourselves.

As a leader, and in counseling others, I learned how valuable it was to listen well.

Listening well includes hearing what is spoken, what is not said, and what people hold back. Not just reading between the lines, but listening at a deeper, spiritual level.

Scripture

A motive in the human heart is like deep water,
and a person who has understanding draws it out.
Who can find someone who is really trustworthy?
A righteous person lives on the basis of his integrity.
Who can say, “I’ve made my heart pure. I’m cleansed from my sin”?
Even a child makes himself known by his actions, whether his deeds are pure or right. (Proverbs 20:5-7, 9, 11 GW)
(Context—Proverbs 20:1-13 GW)

Proverbs 20

Simple insights

These selected verses from chapter 20 speak to the need for discernment to understand the motives of a person’s heart—their inner nature. This is why Solomon asks, “Who can find someone who is really trustworthy?” (vs 6)

He also says that “A righteous person lives on the basis of his integrity” (vs 7). A simple meaning of integrity is to be sound, complete, and undivided.

On the subject of motives, we seldom discern our own motives. We fool ourselves into thinking our heart is pure and without sin. For some of us, self-deception becomes our shield from reality. Self-deception can even become somewhat of an art form, but not in a good way.

While counseling people and even while teaching or preaching, I often sensed the Lord asking me, “Are you hearing what you’re saying to them?” More often than I’d liked to admit, I needed to hear and heed my counsel to others.

Eventually, who we are, along with our actions and attitudes, reveals our motives. Others know things about us before we’re aware of them—especially our parents, spouses, close friends, and children. We see even sociopaths and psychopaths for who they are at some point, though they don’t realize it themselves.

People are people. We’re all the same for the most part. We are all born with a selfish nature. Only God knows us and others at the deepest level of our being.

It takes patience and help to draw water from a deep well. So also to discern motives and values in the heart of a person, including ourselves.

Want to know your own or someone else’s motives?

Be patient. Be a good listener. Be humble. And ask God for discernment and wisdom.

Reflection—

God alone knows us in the deepest sense. If we want to understand our own motives or the motives of others, we need His help. We also need to be patient and humble and learn to listen well—to God and others.