A Matter Of The Heart

This year I have been working on reading through the Bible with a group of ladies holding each other accountable on Facebook. One of the challenges we were given during this time by one of the ladies was to not just read but to really let the words we are reading penetrate our heart. I know that are still many times I just read for the sake of getting caught up and getting my reading done but every once in a while I kind of get smacked up side the head. Several weeks ago was one of those times.
I was reading in 1 Chronicles 21 where it is talking about how David took the census and how this was a sin. At first I didn't really understand why taking a census was such a big deal. I even asked my husband about it cause it was really on my heart. Why would God get so angry at a man for counting his people. What was wrong with that.
So went back and reread the section and then talked about it. It says "Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. " 1 Chron 21:1. I still wasn't understanding why a census in this situation was such a bad thing. Then my husband talked to me about David's heart behind the matter. He was taking a census cause he was wanting to know how great his numbers were so that he could brag about how great his army was. David's heart was taking pride in his numbers and starting to trust in numbers instead of Christ. Taking the census in itself wasn't the sin but it was the motivation of his heart behind it. It was his motivation for greed, arrogance, and selfishness that caused the census to be a sin.
How often are we moved my greed and selfishness to get what we want? I was just reminded here how important it is for us to check our heart motive behind what we are doing. A super huge challenge for me. I hope this also is a challenge to you.