MOTIVES

There is nothing more important and more deserving of our constant and careful scrutiny, than the motives which actuate us to the performance of Christian duties. They are important because of the bearing which they will have on our final acceptance at the bar of Him who has laid these duties upon us. There are many motives which find a place in the human heart, as prompters to actions of a religious nature; but there is only one which can render such actions pleasing and acceptable to God, and if this motive be wanting, our service, however strictly it may conform outwardly to his requirements, will not be such as he can look upon with favor now, or accept in the day when every man shall be rewarded according to his works. And so easy is it to be actuated in religious work by other motives than the right one, that the most careful examination of our hearts in the light of that word which is a discerner of its thoughts and intents, is necessary to guard against deception on this point.MMM 410.8

It is, in the first place, possible for one to engage in religious practices merely from a motive of temporal, worldly advantage; Allusion to such a class of persons is made in 1 Timothy 6:5. They are a very large class, and are to be found in abundance in the popular churches of the land; nor is any church apt to be wholly free from their presence. Influenced by the advantage which is derived in any pursuit of life by a conformity to popular custom, these deceived persons join the church, and engage in its various forms of outward service, “supposing that gain is godliness.” So great is the deceitfulness of the human heart, that many an individual’s course is marked by this glaring perversion of true piety, while he seems to have no suspicion of his own hypocrisy and the spurious character of his motives in the sight of Heaven.MMM 410.9

But there are other motives besides that of worldly gain which influence men to a profession of religion, and which, while good in a certain sense, nevertheless cannot in themselves invest any action with that virtue which renders it, in the fullest degree, pleasing and acceptable to God. Foremost among these may be mentioned,-MMM 410.10

1. The fear of punishment. This is a motive which the Bible itself presents before us as an incentive to right doing, and therefore a proper one, at least to some extent. But it is not designed as a motive which should actuate the Christian throughout the entire length of his religious experience, but only as a stepping stone at the outset of his journey to something higher, and as a barrier against his turning back again to the world. Its chief virtue lies in its tendency to lead the individual to the possession of a better motive, without which it would not in any wise advantage him in the end.MMM 410.11

2. A sense of duty. This is a laudable motive, and one which must remain ever present in the heart which has been enlightened with a knowledge of man’s relationship to God and of his claims upon every individual of the human family. But even this is not the highest of Christian motives, nor sufficient alone to place an action in the most favorable light in the sight of God. With many, this is the only motive which prompts them to engage in religious services. They maintain their religious standing only by virtue of this impelling force. It is evident that such service must proceed rather from the head than from the heart, and cannot, therefore, be fully acceptable in the sight of a God who requires the best service it is within our power to give. It is very easy to imagine that service which proceeds from this motive is fully acceptable to God, and many persons deceive themselves upon this point. A sense of Christian duty, like the fear of punishment for disobedience, can only serve its highest purpose by leading us to the attainment of a still higher motive, one which does not have in it the undesirable element of compulsion.MMM 410.12

3. The hope of reward. This also is held out to us in the word of God as a stimulus to faithful service, but like the two preceding, it cannot invest an act with that which gives it the highest degree of acceptance. It does not appeal to the highest and noblest attribute of our nature, and its purpose is essentially the same as that of the two previously noticed.MMM 410.13

To fulfill the highest purpose of the gospel, to be fitted to dwell harmoniously in the society which man lost by the fall, it is evident that he must become actuated by the same motive which prompts the worship and service of heavenly beings. As to what this acceptable motive is, and the vital importance of its possession, the word of God does not leave us in doubt. Thu subject is presented before us in the well known words of the apostle Paul. “Though I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”MMM 410.14

The import of this language can be nothing else than that without charity (better translated here by the word “love”), nothing which we can do in the service of God can be of that nature which will find acceptance with him. The fear of punishment, the sense of duty, the hope of reward, or any other motive to religious work which may exist in the heart, without love, will profit no one anything. It says to us, in unmistakable language, that if it be not love which prompts our efforts in the service of God, whatever other praiseworthy motives we may have, our service is not such as God can accept, nor our standing in the sight of God such as would meet his acceptance in the day of judgment.MMM 410.15

How important, then, that we should examine carefully and test by the standard of God’s word the motives of our own hearts, lest we should be unconsciously acting from a motive which will profit us nothing. Our work, to be acceptable, must be done not alone from a fear of punishment, a hope of reward, or a sense of duty, but because “the love of Christ constraineth us.” l. a. s.MMM 410.16