The reason Korach fought with Moshe Rabbeinu seems, at first glance, to be a fair and noble one. He also wanted to do the avodah in the Mikdash. Yet we all know that this was an aveirah. Sometimes we face situations where we are unsure whether something is truly a mitzvah or an aveirah. How can we know whether our motives are genuine?
The Bnei Yissaschar says that we should do a quick check. Do we have the same hislahavus for this that we have when doing a clear mitzvah, such as learning Torah or wearing tzitzis? If we see that we have even more fire and excitement for this than we do for regular mitzvos, it is likely that the yetzer hara is involved. Only if our enthusiasm is similar to that of an ordinary mitzvah can we be confident that our motives are pure.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 85.