What motivates you? I mean, what drives you or compels you to do what you do? I am not talking about just at work, but in your life as a whole? When you are at work, what makes you strive for excellence? If you have a family, why do you try to be a good father or mother? “Why? What difference does it make?” you may ask. Good question
Hebrews 4:12 says that God’s word, the Bible, is the judge of our thoughts and motives. So, if that’s true, and it is, then the ‘why’ question I asked earlier is very important. Let me share what I believe, according to the Bible, is the best answer to that question, and why it makes a difference as we go about our kingdom work in Jesus’ name.
According to Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:37-38, he answered the Pharisee’s question as to which was the greatest commandment by saying: “to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…is the greatest commandment.” And the second is this: “to love your neighbor as yourself.”
Dove award winning vocalist, Steve Green, puts it this way in his song “The Mission”: “To love the Lord our God is the heartbeat of our mission, the spring from which our service overflows. Across the street or around the world, our mission’s still the same, proclaim and live the truth in Jesus’ name.”
When love is our only motivation, we are kept from the selfish motive of glorifying ourselves. We readily give God the glory when we serve Him because we know that His love working through us is at the core of what we do. We also recognize that we don’t have the unconditional love necessary in and of ourselves, and that we are totally dependent on Him.
So, let’s get out there and love people in Jesus’ name! Watch Him do His work and give Him all the glory!