Motives

Do you ever really search your heart and question the motives you have for doing something? I think sometimes one can be doing noble things but those things may not be noble at all because of where a person's heart is (though I believe good may still occur from the direct action itself).

As the late, great Avon Malone used to say, "Motives Matter" (though print does not do this phrase justice as you need to know just how brother Avon used to say it). That has had a profound impact on me for years since I heard him say it. This one simple phrase has caused more self reflection than any other words I have ever heard uttered.

What happens then, when your motives are two-fold? You have pure motives for doing something, but you also have secondary, sometimes involuntary, motives for something. What if your secondary motives fill your thoughts when you are trying to fight them off to dwell on the primary, more wholesome and appropriate motives?

Have any of you ever experienced this? What do you do in situations like that?