You will always find a way to do or quit doing anything you’re sufficiently motivated to do or not do.
Even though the Apostle Paul wrote, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” — evenhe was nonetheless sufficiently motivated to not just throw in the towel and resign himself to that living hell. He pressed on and discovered God’s way of breaking that bondage:
So what does it take to become sufficiently motivated to walk in the freedom for which Christ has set us free?
Two thoughts come to mind.
First, we must fear the Lord. By that I mean, fear doing anything that brings on his discipline.
Hebrews 12:5b-6 (NIV) — “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
However, it seems to me that if all we envision when it comes to God’s discipline is some personal pain or suffering, that still won’t adequately motivate us to stay on track. Why? Because it’s all too easy for us to brush off any risk we pose to ourselves and go ahead with our wayward plan.
God knows that avoiding trouble for our own sake ultimately won’t cut it. No doubt you’ve noticed how casually we do things we think only harm ourselves.
The reason self-regard fails to sufficiently motivate us is that we we’re made to be like God. God never does anything out of self-regard. Everything he does is with an eye on bringing maximum benefit to everyone and everything besides himself. He is perfectly self-sufficient and in no way whatsoever does anything to benefit himself .
When we are fathered by God we discover that our desire to care for others and always protect them and all creation is non-negotiable. We simply cannot stand the thought of deliberately instigating suffering in anything or anyone dear to us.
This warning suffices: “When you [the Lord] discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him…” Psalms 39:11 (ESV)
Another contributing factor to being sufficiently motivated to do what we need to do is our desire to be a continual blessing to everyone we know. Where did that desire come from? It came from God. When he recreates us, our spiritual DNA, so to speak, generates in us his very own impulse to give all that we are to constantly lift others up into the arms of Christ.
To sum up, fearing the Lord’s discipline motivates us to avoid what we know will bring on tormenting anguish in what is dear to us. And our passion to be a living blessing to others motivates us to safeguard the chances each day brings.
I’m persuaded that the more we nurture these two God-given desires by constantly thinking of them, the more we will experience adequate motivation to always seek to be who God wants us to be.
