Motivations
Motivation and Mankind
Mankind has two battling sources of motivation: the flesh and the spirit.
The flesh has no eternal hope and is eternally striving for short-term gratification and pleasure.
The spirit can be renewed to strive for the purposes of its Maker.
Man is born with a spirit, in innocence, and with a conscience which
guides him early in childhood about right and wrong.
Without the word of God, the desires of the flesh can begin to dominate
so that the spirit is quenched, the heart hardened, and the
conscience seared so that the spirit no longer longs for God.
With the word of God and with awareness of the love of God,
the spirit can be reawakened, refreshed, and renewed so that we desire that
which is eternal.
Within the character of man, virtue can be added to virtue, and each virtue can
increase in measure as long as he has keen awareness of the goodness, love, and
mercy of God. However, if he is forgetful, nearsighted, or beset by spiritual
blindness, these virtues will not multiply, and his failings will increase.
Clarifying my own Motivations
Therefore, I set out at the beginning of 2001, to clearly identify those
things which I value greatly about God. Christianity and the truths about Jesus
are good news. When I am spiritually dull or unmotivated, it is because I have
forgotten how Christianity is good news to me and that the guilt for my failings
has been completely taken away. When I remember clearly how Christianity is
good news to me, the distractions of the world are less, and the burden of the
responsibility I bear for knowing the truth about God is lightened.
I seek to answer the following two questions in
order to keep my motivations right for the year 2001 and beyond.
Why is Christianity good news to me?
or What's so great about Christianity?
Christianity is the good news about Jesus Christ. (The word "gospel" means
"good news".) The following four words sum up for me the most powerful personally
motivating elements of Christianity.
- Maker - Christianity is about learning truths about my Maker.
It is about reuniting me intellectually and emotionally with the One who is
responsible for my existence. I owe Him great gratitude for the chance to live,
to love, and to be loved.
- Eternal - It is truly a privilege to invest even the tiniest bit of energy in
something which will do good for all time. I hate working on a project which
is cancelled. It leaves me empty, feeling like I wasted my time.
So it is with pursuing earthly goals, for this world will one day end.
- Truth - Christianity is true! It is not merely a philosophy, outlook,
or worldview which I have chosen to adopt. It is a body of facts about the very real
but unseen spiritual realm which God chose to reveal in various ways, culminating with
the sending of his Son. God really did create the world. Jesus really did rise
from the dead. The earth really will come to an end. Heaven and Hell are real.
Great knowledge is a great privilege. But with great knowledge comes great
responsibility.
- Freedom - Freedom is not the ability to do what I feel like. Rather,
it is the power to behave in keeping with my highest aspirations. Freedom is
being granted amnesty and foregiveness for the failings in my past. It leaves my
conscience clear, my heart pure, my hopes high, and my outlook bright.
What are my goals in life?
I choose for my life to display the following four loves.
For more detail, see my Life Goals page.