Edith Wilson was accused of manipulating the President after he had had his stroke. She thought he ought to resign after he was incapacitated while on a tour of the country trying to win support for the League of Nations. She decided to serve as his assistant. She filtered the questions to him and tried to have him keep active and make decisions if he was able to do so. In those matters that would have been troublesome for him she made the decisions for him. She was criticized for her motives. People accused her of taking over the power of the president without the authority to do so. They called her the "petticoat President" and ridiculed her for, that appeared to be, her motives.
What about our motives? Are our motives pure? Can any of them be questioned?
Do we even know our motives? Have we fooled ourselves? Are our motives altruistic or suspect? How do we know?
The Psalmist in Psalm 139 asks God to examine our ways to help us determine our true motives.
It seems to me it is always important to ask ourselves what we are doing and why we are doing it. It is important that we explore what is behind our words and deeds.
It seems to me it is best to approach our motives apologetically. We do what we think we should do but we continue to ponder the reason behind it.
Do we have mixed or pure motives? Is there anything that is pure or are we fooling ourselves?
If you have thoughts on this subject write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
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