Motivated to be Motivated

  • Mike Rydman
  • Oct 24, 2007

Motivated to be Motivated?

 

A good question was raised this week in our small group. How is it that Galatians 2:3 and Philippians 2:12 fit together?

 

Galatians 3:2-3 says this, "Let me ask you this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

 

The point of this? How easy it is for believers to fall back into thinking that we do our own saving. Now while most of us believe that God, through His son Jesus Christ saved us when we couldn't save ourselves, we then buy back into thinking that our "sanctification" (God conforming our hearts to more resemble His own) is somehow dependent upon our own actions, our "works."

 

However, and not too many Bible pages later, Philippians 2:12 says this: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

 

This verse seems to be telling us that we are to be actively participating in the "working out of our own salvation," and it even should be motivated by unpleasant things like "fear and trembling."

 

At first glance, these two passages would seem to be a glaring contradiction. But, there are some presuppositions in reading our Bibles that are necessary.

  1. We believe that all of Scripture is inspired by God, and all of it is profitable for us
  2. We believe that apparent contradictions are only contradictions to us; not because they are, but because they appear so because of the limits to our understanding
  3. We believe that context means something

 

Having said all that, here's where my God-given presuppositions can assist me. Philippians 2:13, which says, "...for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." So, and if I am reading this right, we are to participate in our sanctification, but it remains the work of God to bring about our sanctification through the presence and power of His Holy Spirit in us. Contradiction eradicated,

 

Okay, I could end there with my trite and easy conclusion, but this raises another question in me, admittedly one I have wrestled with for some time now; the question being, "How does motivation fit in to being a growing Christian?"

 

On two fronts I question "motivations," especially my own motivations. On one front, I find myself trying to motivate myself by initiating self-disciplines that will help me to participate in my own sanctification. I can be a slave to disciplines, and I even find a sick comfort in being self-disciplined, but experience a sick guilt when I fail to be consistent in these same disciplines.

 

On the other front, I have developed a healthy distrust of my own motivations. In almost every experience of investigating my motivations I can drill down deep enough to find a bad root of pride motivating me to do almost anything and everything I choose to do. And what a stern task master this becomes for me. I can almost always conclude that my motivations are motivated by sin, therefore anything I think or do is sinful. Or, I can sit back and tell myself not to do anything at all until I "feel" the pure motivation from God to do it.

 

But back to Philippians 2:13. Here is truth. It is "God who works in [me], both to will (be motivated) and to work (be obedient) for His good pleasure." But what does this truth tell me?

 

God can and will motivate me, even while I may be consumed with distrusting my own motivations, because our God is busy being consumed with what will bring Him glory and good pleasure. This probably also means I don't have to be busy trying to motivate myself; I can leave that to Him.

 

Second, I can be obedient to seek His good pleasure, even while not necessarily trusting my motives to be obedient. We can all recall times when God has taken something poorly conceived by us and made it turn out to be something that results in our praising Him.

 

Here on a rainy Wednesday morning, maybe my one conclusion is this: I can, and must ask God to motivate me to seek His good pleasure. Somehow, I think this is a prayer our Lord is more than happy to answer. And when I am singularly empowered to seek His good pleasure, I sense the ‘working out of my own salvation with fear and trembling" will progress quiet nicely, apart from my own false efforts to "perfect myself in the flesh."