Motives Test: by Tim Kernan

The character of Peter by Phil McCallen on the 16th Nov 2008
[audio:Char_Series/PM_Peter_2008-11-16.mp3]

Proverbs 16:2 “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.”

There are a number of great passages about motives in the bible. James teaches (James 4:3) that there are both good and bad motives. Even if our motives seem pure to us it is God who will weigh them and decide our true motivations in the end. As kids we are taught that there are both selfish and selfless motivations.

Without the motivation it’s very hard to live a good Christian life. There is no data on it but my gut feeling is that a lack of motivation has probably destroyed more Christian groups and Christian lives than persecution or even false doctrine. Over the course of the past several years I would say that motivation has been one of the deciding factors in who makes it and who doesn’t as a Christian.

Motivation is such a precious thing that makes our lives so much better. Sometimes it does seem fleeting and we can get tricked into thinking that we have to go where our motivation leads us instead of the other way around. Lets take a look at some of the motives that create and feed our motivations.

What are some good motives that drive us to be Christians?

1: Reward! Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Disciples rejoice and are glad because we put an actual value on Jesus promise that he will reward us in heaven. This can seem quite mercenary to the modern cosmopolitan palate. I resent that label. I prefer “reward contractor”.

2: Protection: John 17:12 “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me…” The motive to protect is a powerful motivation. Its probably the most felt motivation I have to be in the ministry. Protection and care are powerful motives and drive us to evangelize the lost and disciple the saved.

3: Gratitude: Titus 2: 13-14 “…Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Those people who have truly understood the cross of Christ will feel eager to do what is right and won’t be disciples under compulsion or to please others. The human heart works on clean motives like gratitude best.

4: Fear: 2 Corinthians 5:11 “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.” People make all kinds of strange arguments up about the fear of God but it’s really very simple. If you’ve done something wrong to someone who is far stronger than you there is usually fear. Since we have all done something wrong to God through sin we feel a natural and rational apprehension when we think of Him. Fear needs to motivate us to stay clear of the wrong and cheerfully choose the right.

5: Identity: 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” In a society that claims to love rationality and science its amazing how similar everyone is… Today victimhood gives identity, apathy an attitude and conformity an opinion. Jesus calls disciples we break free from the mold. Jesus calls the disciples have the integrity to say that 2+2=4, not 5 and say that some ideas and beliefs are wrong regardless of how politically incorrect it is to do so.

What are some selfish motivations?

1: Pride: Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” Religious pride can drive people to exhibit some of the same characteristics as a sold out disciple for a short while however in the end putting up a front for personal glory becomes too heavy a burden and that burden sinks people away from the church. Its not Gods commands which become burdensome because the bible clearly says in 1 John 5:3 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…”

2: Escape Isaiah 22:13-14 “But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” The LORD Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the LORD Almighty.” Instead of facing the realities of our lives and seeking Gods help we can often be motivated by escape. A person who is “too unmotivated to evangelize” but yet who watches hours of youtube videos, movies and video games is not a person without motivation. They are just a person with wrong motives in life.

3: Vanity 1 Peter 3:3 “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.” It’s incredible to me the number of people who claim to be lacking in motivation who devote an electrical motivation to their outward appearance. If they dedicated a portion of the time they spend thinking about how they look in the mirror to making disciples the world would have been evangelized a long time ago.

These are far from exhaustive lists however they do help us to understand where our motivations or lack thereof come from. As disciples it is very important for us to be conscious of the motives which energize us. If discipling those who are in need of it is far less interesting than searching for a new house there needs to be some alarm in our hearts. If reaching out to the lost has reached an all time ebb in terms of our interest then we need to carefully examine where our hearts are at. Every disciple will struggle with motives and the ensuing motivations their whole lives.

What are your motives today?

Here is the simple motives test: what motivates you? Are you driven by selfish motivations or are your good motives clear through your motivations? If your motivation to do God’s will is weak your motives are worldly. Its time to turn things around. Don’t let the motivations of the flesh keep you from getting your reward! If your motivations are Godly then your motives are also Godly. Now you need to spread your good motives to others!

Love,

Tim Kernan