Guilt Motivation

tliuG noitavitoM. That’s right. You can clearly see that Guilt Motivation has us taking the wrong perspective. Whether in relation to God or others, Satan wants us to feel the constant pressure of an inadequate performance. Certainly guilt motivation means that we are serving God in order to gain acceptance. With this perspective, we focus on ourselves and on our performance rather than on God and His truth which reminds us that our acceptance is NOT based on our performance but by virtue of God’s grace and our response to the cross. Our comprehending and apprehending of God’s grace greatly affects how we view Him and why we serve Him. Our motivation can be due to grace or guilt or a combination of the two. (Nobody’s perfect) And this carries over in our personal relationships as well. To the degree we understand God’s grace and apply it to ourselves, we are in a better posture to respond to others from a grace basis. (Trust me, they may be puzzled by this grace response but people grow to like it.) Under guilt, if we attempt something and it does not go well, we feel we have failed God. We can fear He is displeased with us when, in fact, He may not be. Our determination of failure may not be the same as God’s. To Him it may be a teaching point for something down the line. Rightly understanding grace, we have the freedom to take steps of faith because we have the freedom to fail. We don’t have to worry about losing His favor or love. This opens up a rich adventure to explore faith and trust. Let’s face it, we’re not always going to get it “right” when we plumb the depths of God’s mind and will. But we will never attempt great things for God or experience the fullness of His pleasure if we cower in fear and paralysis. This verse can be a little tricky, but I will take the risk and recommend it with a hint. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) Think About It.