Way back in the olden days when this blog began, I used to harp on the subject of motivation, and that this was something very lacking among the great mass of people in this era of modern atheistic materialism.
So many (nearly all) of the plans and schemes for the betterment of individuals or mankind fall-down because of the feebleness of motivation that drives them.
Of course, motivation of some kind can be manufactured - either from-within or (more often) imposed externally - especially by the mass media and corporations. Or else people would not do anything, would not get up in the mornings, would wither and die.
But there is a world of difference between someone who has a strong innate, robust, and long-lasting motivation - and someone (most modern Men) who are just temporarily reactive to short-term and socially-acceptable incentives - motivated just so long as this does not require too much immediate effort or sacrifice.
By my evaluation, the problem of deficient motivation undercuts and renders destined-to-fail all sorts of ideas for social and personal betterment - from vast schemes of political and economic reform or reaction, down to plans for spiritual and religious renewal or awakening.
It seems like a plain fact that we cannot conjure strong and lasting motivation "on demand" - no matter how much we may want to, or how "right" we thing that motivation is.
This implies Christians are confronted by a stark choice between living as a manipulated pawn in the hands of the most powerful social engineers - in which case they are not Christians... Or else discovering what are the actually-operative (or potentially effective) profound motivators in our-selves; and from among these latent motivators, trying to identify and build-upon those which are Good: those which are harmonious with God's creation and Jesus's offer of salvation.
Discovering, selecting, and putting our best efforts behind our profound Christian motivations is an inner quest and maybe the most necessary quest of all, since upon it depends all possible other action.
And (like most real-life quests) there is no recipe for success; beyond sustained honest effort.
Indeed; the first step has to be a Christian motivation to discover one's own strong and lasting Christian motivations... Which sounds paradoxical, and would actually be paradoxical - except that this is exactly the kind of where a faithful Christian should confidently expect God to step-in, and help us (personally) directly with guidance and reinforcement, whenever that is necessary*.
*Bearing in mind that this-world-now seems clearly to be set-up in accordance with God wanting us to do as much as is possible of this seeking and discovering for-ourselves - by trial-error-repentance and then trying-again. Presumably because this process is the best, and sometimes the only, way to learn.
this is exactly the kind of where a faithful Christian should confidently expect God to step-in, and help us (personally) directly with guidance and reinforcement, whenever that is necessary
ReplyDeleteA thousand times this. It became clear to me almost a decade ago that my primary aim as a Christian must be to develop the ready capacity to leap from the sandstone of this-worldly pseudo-assurance into the invisible but deeply, ultimately real embrace of the Lord. To the degree I am capable of Love, I love the Lord. Total trust is more difficult. To trust in the Lord totally in the way an infant must trust its mother -- this is difficult for any Christian, save perhaps the saints (examples in the Bible abound). But it is what we must do. I believe that God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit has essential work for each of us in this world. He will remove obstacles and support us, provided we make every effort to discern what that work is, and diligently pursue it.