Reasons For Doing The Right Thing

I’ve been thinking about behavior lately and have concluded that when it comes to doing the right thing there are a variety of motivations.

Motivation, Level One – At the lowest level, one can be motivated to do the right thing because of the adverse consequences associated with not doing so. If we don’t do the right thing, at worst, we might be punished, or, at best, we might forfiet a reward; but either way, the motivation is simply and basically associated with wanting to avoid unpleasant circustances.

Motivation, Level Two – At this level, we are motivated to do the right thing becauses of the influence of other people who have a significant connection to us – family, parents, spouse, friends, neighbors, fellow Christians, our employer. We do the right thing so that they might think well of us and so we might gain or maintain their approval; or we do the right thing because we know that our relationship with that person or those persons will be negatively affected if we don’t.

Motivation, Level Three – At this level, we are motivated to do the right thing because of the inherent value associated with doing what is right. This is the level where a person does the right thing even when no one else is looking or even when others might disagree with the choice. At this level, the benefit of others is a primary concern, and it is at this level where people are more willing to make personal sacrifice.

Motivation, Level Four – This, I believe, is the highest level, where I do the right thing because of my desire to bring glory and honor to God. He alone is my motivation for doing the right thing, even though my decision might benefit others, please others, or cause me to avoid negative consequences.

Little children are often at level one. But as they grow in their love relationship with their parents and other significant people in their lives, they can move to level two.

Sadly, however, I have encountered grow adults who have never moved beyond the first or second levels of motivation. If they won’t get caught, or if their choice will not be viewed negatively by people they care about, they can very easily make choices that are wrong – they can lie, cheat, take short cuts, etc.

Level three is the highest motivation that a person can have without having a personal relationship with God. Certanly, we have observed a number of people who have made heroic choices and sacrificial choices that we rightly reward or applaud, even though they might not claim to to be a person of faith or a person who has any relationship with God, whatsoever.

In my humble opinion, only a true Christian, that is, one who has a personal love relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, can reach motivation, level four. Sadly, however, it seems that too few Christians reach this level of motivation.

Just some thoughts. What do you think? Where do you think you are on the above scale? I’d enjoy hearing your ideas on the subject.

Living A Life That’s Out Of Control

I’ve been thinking lately about things over which I have no control. It’s quite a long list.

I can’t control the weather, for example. This last Sunday, we had snow. We made the decision during the first worship service to cancel our afternoon and evening events. By the end of the 11 o’clock service, however, all the roads were clear. What was also clear was that we could have gone ahead with our schedule without any problem.

I can’t control the decisions made by those in this world that can affect our lives positively or negatively. There are folks in this world that can make decisions over which I have absolutely no control. Decisions that might result in my losing my job or my savings for retirement; or making the price of groceries or gasoline go up; or lead our country into war.

I can’t control the aging process. No matter what I do, I can’t change the fact that I am getting older with each passing day. My body’s moving slower, and as my wife has pointed out, my hair is getting thinner, despite the fact that I insist that I can still “feel hair back there.”

I can’t control my health. Oh, yes, I can eat right, get some exercise, and take vitamins, etc. But it will not change the fact that I am a diabetic. I can certainly choose how I live with my diabetes, but I cannot “will” myself to not have the disease.

I can’t control what happens to my kids. Our children are grown now, and as a result, they face grown-up problems – things like disease, divorce, disappointment, discouragement, debt – and there’s not much I can do to change anything about the challenges they face.

I can’t control the choices of others. There are times when I wish I could on at least two levels – as a pastor and as a person.

As a pastor, I would like to make people follow Christ; to work together; to support God’s work with their time, talent and treasure; to stay married; to work through their issues; to bring their kids to church and teach them to love the Lord; to be willing to accept whatever music style, or schedule, or change will help us reach more people for Christ, etc.

As a person, I would like to be able to make people like me, listen to me, enjoy being with me, befriend me, understand me, forgive me, and be reconciled with me. But I can’t control the choices people make about how they will relate to me.

Yes, there are quite a few things about which I have absolutely no control. The sooner I accept this, the better off I will be. But only as I accept something else – that while my life is “out of control,” God is in control. When I accept this truth, then God will take all the “stuff” of my life – even the things on my “no control” list - and give my life purpose. And one day, when Christ returns, He will make “all things new,” including those things about my life over which I have no control.

Don’t worry. God IS in control.

Not Ashamed

This past Sunday was a great day at our church. We had a special “Super Sunday” service (since it was super bowl Sunday), and had guests who led our worship and a guest speaker, who presented the Gospel. A brother and sister from our local Baptist Children’s home professed faith in Christ in response to the message. They haven’t been in our church very long, and I was impressed by their willingness to publicly identify with Christ. Despite the fact that they were standing in front of a group comprised largely of people who did not know them, they were unashamed.

Additionally, a young lady who had been led to Christ by her step-mother the previous week, also stepped forward to publicly identify herself as a “Christ follower.” When she gave her life to Christ a few days earlier, she told her step-mother that she would “never stand before a church” to share her decision. However, despite that fact that because of the special emphasis associated with last Sunday, we may have had the highest attendance for a single worship service in decades, she stood before our congregation and proclaimed her devotion to Christ unashamed.

Then, at the conclusion of the service, two college students from China were baptized, publicly identifiying themselves as ones who had given their lives to Jesus. In doing so, they were declaring themselves as having embraced a faith not shared by their families or understood by their culture. It was a very bold thing for them to do, yet they were unashamed.

These folks all reminded me of Romans 10:11, which in the King James Version is translated as saying, “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

Indeed, if one is truly a follower of Christ, they cannot be content to be a “closet Christian,” but will be compelled to publicly and unashamedly identify themselves as belonging to Christ.

This same verse, Romans 10:11, also is translated in most modern translations as saying, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it,” (The Message). Indeed, when we are not ashamed to identify ourselves as a follower of Jesus, we will never regret it, regardless of the price to be paid for doing so, because of the eternal difference that confessing Christ before others makes: “If you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me. But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me.” – Matthew 10:32-33 (Easy-to-Read Version).