What keeps you motivated? You might rely on extrinsic motivations, money, praise, or recognition. Intrinsic motivations help also, that personal gratification of accomplishing a task is very rewarding. The motivation in our spiritual walk needs to be maintained. What keeps us making right choices? What helps me face those hard days? What presses me on toward the high calling or to go into all the world with the gospel? In the fifth chapter of Second Corinthians, Paul lays out before us three possible motivations.
He begins with the judgement of God. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). This is only mentioned after talking about his desire to be with the Lord and our “ambition” to be pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5:6-9). Knowing that there is a future judgement that all must go through and that everything we have done will be examined should be a motivating factor. Over and over the New Testament writers used, by the inspiration of God, the judgment as a motivation factor (1 Pet. 4:17; Rom. 2:3). As Paul is talking about it in this context, he seemingly welcomes it without fear. We all could be in that spiritual place. “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment” (1 John 4:17a). Love for God and obedience to Him can keep us from the fear of judgement.
Fear is a great motivator. It keeps people from doing a lot of things. Fear is what governments use to control the masses. Fear of monetary penalties, fear of incarceration and fear of death. The Bible says that fear is a tool to be used by governing authorities (Rom. 13:4, 7). Is it any wonder that God would use fear? Paul in the context writes, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Co. 5:11a). Six times in Proverbs, Solomon mentions the value of the fear of the Lord. He only mentions two things. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 15:33). “The fear of the Lord prolongs life” (Prov. 10:27; 14:27; 19:23). The fear of God has its value. It motivates to action. Wisdom reacts appropriately to fear, and that action can be life-saving—if not physically, certainly spiritually.
Judgement and fear move us toward the last motivating factor. “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died” (2 Cor. 5:14). If we have been motivated to serve, we have all gone through being motivated by these factors—judgement, fear, and love. All three have their place, and as we mature, we fear less and love more. John says, “Perfect [mature] love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). Love for God keeps us motivated.