Motivation

Considering Paul’s early experiences with the church in Damascus and Jerusalem, I was impressed at the importance of the church in our motivation to carry on. Motivation is one of the most important elements in one’s success or demise. I think of people with whom I grew up and went to school. Their success depended less on how gifted they were than on their willingness to stick to the task at hand. Much of that depended in turn on their examples at home, social supports, and view of life.

The absolutely easiest thing in the world (like exercising more, or eating less) is impossible without continuing motivation to press on. We have all started undertakings like this, pleased and satisfied at how well we do, only to get distracted before we see any lasting result. When it comes to core issues like character maturing, dealing with personal pride, mean-ness, laziness, lust, greed, we really need the Christian community to keep us motivated, with the Spirit of God to show us what is true.

As evangelicals, we emphasize that the Spirit of God lives in us and gives us the will and the power to please God. And he does. In fact, he is right there with us all the time. Yet despite that, we doubt and disobey, because at least at some level we don’t believe he is. At the other end of the spectrum is doing right and abstaining from evil only because some influence, such as family or police, or religious body, rewards and punishes in some way.

Too often, we are motivated by pride and shame. These are actually two sides of the same coin (Prov.11:2). They do produce impressive short term results. They work especially well for modifying those behaviors that others can see. But because they are all about making self look better, they are pulling us in the wrong direction where a Christian virtue is concerned. And for the same reason, when we let pride and shame be our motivation, we will find ways to do our evil, while trumpeting our good deeds for all to see.

In contrast to pride and shame, motivation by love is focused on someone other than self. The love of Christ controls us (2Cor.5:14); The love of Christ surpasses knowledge (Eph.3:19); We love because he first loved us. (1Jn.4:19). Jesus motivated by being a servant, by washing his disciples’ feet, by laying down his life, by inviting us to join him in his yoke. Love of a spouse, child, or friend can lead us to do the same. Similarly motivation within the Christian community comes from a willingness to serve, give, and come along side to share the load, rather than from laying more burdens on others.

Why do we need a Christian community?  Much of the time we could do the right thing in and of ourselves, but in the end, by ourselves, we don’t. The spirit of life in Christ gives us the will and power to please God. But he has made us to joyfully do this as a part of his visible Body, encouraging and being encouraged to go ahead with what his Spirit is leading us to do.  -philw